Chennai: A major train accident took place in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvallur on Friday night after the 12578 Mysore-Darbhanga Bagmati rammed into a stationary goods train on the tracks in the Ponneri-Kavarapettai section of Chennai rail division. The accident caused at least 12 coaches of the passengers to derail and two set ablaze.
The express train, fitted with LHB coaches, passed Ponneri station at 8:27 PM and received a green signal to proceed on the main line at Kavarapettai. However, as it entered the station, the train experienced a sudden jolt and unexpectedly diverted onto the loop line at a speed of 75 km/h, colliding with a stationary goods train.
Fortunately, no casualties have been reported in the accident, except for minor injuries to a few passengers but it led to extensive damage to the trains and rail traffic on the route has been halted the debris of the coaches is cleared from the track.
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The Following Trains are diverted and rescheduled due to train accident of Train No.12578 #Mysuru – Darbhanga #BagmatiExpress at Kavaraipettai in #Chennai Division
Passengers are requested to take note on this and plan your #travel #SouthernRailway pic.twitter.com/eMNkp9TL2s
— Southern Railway (@GMSRailway) October 12, 2024
What caused the accident?
The express train, equipped with LHB coaches, had passed Ponneri station at 8:27 PM and was given a green signal to run through the mainline at Kavarapettai. However, upon entering the station, the train experienced a heavy jerk and unexpectedly veered into the loop line at a speed of 75 km/h, crashing into the goods train parked there.
According to Southern Railway officials, the reason behind the accident was the moving of the Bagmati Express on a loop line which led it towards the good trains standing on the tracks before. This has raised suspicion of a sabotage attempt or a lapse on the part of a staffer as the train was given a green signal but it went on a loop line instead of the main line despite another train being there.
Due to this, Railways have decided to hand over the investigation into the accident to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) besides a probe by the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS).
Common factor between Chennai train accident and Balasore train tragedy
The revelation of the loop line change factor in the Mysore-Darbhanga Express accident brought back haunting memories of last year’s tragedy involving three trains in Odisha’s Balasore that left around 300 people dead and over a thousand injured.
On June 2, 2023, the Chennai-bound Coromandel Express mistakenly veered onto a loop line instead of continuing on the main track. This misrouting occurred just minutes before a catastrophic accident near the Bahanaga Bazar station. On the loop line, a stationery goods train was parked, and the Coromandel Express, travelling at high speed, collided with it. The force of this collision caused a major derailment, which led to further impacts with the Howrah-bound Yeshwantpur Express, which was moving on an adjacent track.
The root cause of the accident was a signaling failure, where the system erroneously displayed a green signal for the main line, despite the point being set for the loop line. The tragic accident claimed the lives of at least 296 people and left over a thousand injured.
What is a loop line in railways?
A loop line in Indian Railways is a secondary track running parallel to the main line at stations or junctions. It is mainly used to manage train traffic by allowing trains to be overtaken, crossed, or held to let faster trains pass by slower or stationary ones. Loop lines play a crucial role in regulating traffic flow, especially at busy stations or junctions.
