The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Train services disrupted

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 01, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Train services disrupted

S. Vydhianathan

— Photo: S. S. Kumar

ORDEAL AGAIN: Passengers who were stranded at Chennai Central on Tuesday night, following derailment of empty coaches.

CHENNAI: It was virtual chaos at the Chennai Central railway station as hundreds of passengers were stranded for over three hours owing to uncertainty over the departure of major main line trains on Tuesday night.

It is all due to derailment of two coaches of the Chennai-Jaipur Express empty rake when they were being brought to the station from the yard at 6.25 p.m. and the train services were completely disrupted till late in the night. Authorities cancelled the Circar Express to Kakinada, the Nilgiris Express to Mettupalayam, the Alleppey Express, the Cauvery Express to Mysore and the Yercaud Express to Erode. All other trains were rescheduled to leave late in the night. The restoration work was going on and the track would be restored only after midnight, according to railway officials.

Though counters were opened to give information, passengers were restless as railway officials could not give the exact time of departure of the trains. The administration ordered full refund for passengers who wanted to cancel their journeys. They were also given option to postpone their journey to later dates if accommodation was available.

Arrival of incoming trains was also delayed as the track was not cleared.

Only late Tuesday afternoon, authorities restored normal train services at the Central station as a similar accident occurred on Monday night. Two empty coaches of the New Delhi bound Tamil Nadu Express derailed at the same point when they were being brought to the station. The track was restored only after midnight resulting in the delayed departure and arrival of trains for more than four hours. Only by 11 a.m. on Tuesday normal operation was possible. But the services were crippled again on Tuesday evening.

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