Indian Railways cancelled or rescheduled dozens of services after the Mangalore Express from here derailed at Karukutty 11km from the Cochin International Airport early Sunday morning.
Twelve battered coaches of the daily express train bound for the coastal city of the neighbouring Karnataka state derailed and slipped into the second track blocking the two-way traffic and affecting many long-distance passengers who booked several months in advance and the Haj pilgrims arriving at the airport, which is their only embarkation point in Kerala.
The authorities have ruled out sabotage, but they are yet to ascertain the real cause.
Several passengers who were sleeping on the upper decks fell on the floor under its impact, and many panicked as the accident occurred in an isolated, unlit, area at night. A woman was hurt mildly.
The timely intervention of the station master of Karukutty, where express trains usually do not stop, averted a major collision as he stopped the Chennai Express which was running
at a moderate speed of 80kph.
“We alerted the incoming train, and it was stopped about 300m away. That was an achievement of the railways’ safety measures,” an official said.
The 16347 express train derailed between Aluva and Karukutty stations in Ernakulam district at 2.55am after leaving here at 8.40pm on Saturday, a Southern Railway spokesman said.
The authorities arranged buses and local trains to carry the stranded passengers while two huge cranes started lifting the bogies off the tracks.
They hoped to restore regular services by today while passengers, especially those who booked on long-distance trains to metros like Mumbai and Delhi said they were not sure about the new timings, and they would miss important appointments including interviews for jobs.
Officials said earlier in the day that the tracks could be cleared in six to ten hours, but efforts to lift the coaches by the ill-equipped railway division progressed at a slow pace.
Passengers also complain of old and badly kept coaches deployed on overcrowded Kerala trains.
“No injuries or casualties reported. All passengers are safe,” a railway communique said.
“Since both tracks are affected, all train services passing through Ernakulam and Alway are likely to be delayed until the rescue operations are completed.”
PK Mishra, additional general manager, Southern Railway, and Prakash Butani, divisional railway manager, Trivandrum, rushed to the spot and oversaw the relief and rescue operations.
Tickets will be refunded and buses have been arranged to transport passengers from Karukutty to Chalakudy from where they will be taken to their destination by special trains.
Southern Railways also opened helpline numbers: 9746769960, 9746761072 and 0471-2320012 to provide information on passengers and details of rescheduled trains.
Reports said hundreds of passengers were stranded at railway stations across the state as they had no idea about the scheduled arrivals and departures.
Bus stations also witnessed the heavy rush of the short-distance passengers who cancelled their rail tickets and rushed to catch the immediately available buses.
Mishra later told reporters that there was no casualty and one woman passenger who complained of shoulder pain was taken to a nearby hospital and after first aid,
she left for home.
The derailed bogies were not detached or toppled — one of the reasons for passengers escaping unhurt.
A railway spokesperson said a team headed by Southern Railway chief safety officer was expected to start a probe soon.
Ramachandran, a ticket examiner, said he heard a loud noise at the time of the derailment and passengers panicked.
It was raining heavily when the incident occurred.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said he had asked the state-run Kerala State Road Transport Corp to press more buses into service to meet the rush.