Chennai: At least 18 wagons of a diesel-laden goods train caught fire while some others derailed near Tiruvallur Railway station on Sunday, affecting train services on the Chennai Beach-Arakkonam section, besides cancellation of some express trains.
Southern Railway sources said none was hurt in the fire.
Since the wagons were loaded with diesel, the fire which that broke out in the 3rd wagon from engine, soon spread very fast up to the 19th wagon.
The goods train chugged with about 48 wagons.
After battling hard for nearly eight hours, the fire was brought under control by multiple fire fighting teams.
Southern Railway said relief and restorations works and repair of tracks were on in full swing.
In an update, it said at around 05:30 hrs today, few intermediate wagons of an oil loaded goods train carrying diesel from Chennai Harbour to Walajah Road Siding, caught fire while exiting Tiruvallur railway station and many other wagons (3rd from Engine onwards) also derailed.
Upon noticing the fire in 3rd wagon, the loco pilot immediately applied the emergency brakes and Station Master, Tiruvallur, switched off the overhead (OHE) power supply as a precautionary safety measure.
However, by the time the train was brought to a halt, the fire spread upto 19th wagon.
Consequently, the train operations in the important Chennai–Arrakonam section, linking Chennai with Bangalore, Kerala and Renugunta/Tirupati had to be suspended.
A total of 12 Mail/Express trains scheduled to commence from or terminating at Chennai Central were cancelled and several other trains were either diverted or short-terminated.
The General Manager and Divisional Railway Manager with senior officials of Southern Railway, are at site to monitor the rescue and restoration operations in close coordination with District Administration, NDRF and Fire and Rescue Services.
Residents in the vicinity were evacuated as precautionary measure, though there has been no injury to any person.
Meanwhile, stranded passengers bound for Chennai at nearby stations and in trains halted enroute were provided with alternative transportation arrangements through Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) buses.
From the goods train, 30 unaffected wagons and the locomotive were safely detached and isolated from the accident site.
While the 18 wagons that were gutted in the fire and four trailing wagons were safely removed from the incident zone.
The Down line from Chennai to Bengaluru and Mangaluru via Jolarpettai will be restored for traffic very soon.
Railways remains fully committed to promptly resolving the issue and ensuring swift restoration of normal train operations, prioritizing passenger safety and service continuity at every step.
All out efforts are underway on war footing to mitigate the situation and restore train services at the earliest.
