Subramanya Ghat-Sakleshpur: train service restored

Five days after landslides on Sakleshpur-Subramanya Ghat section disrupted trains on Mangaluru route, the South Western Railways restored the services on Thursday morning.

The continous slippage of loose soil along with boulders in the form of slurry on the tracks owing to incessant rains and blockage of tracks near Sirivagilu last Saturday, had led to cancellation of several trains on Bengaluru-Mangaluru-Karwar route and partial cancellation of some others. Some trains were run on Shoranur route.

In a press release, the South Western Railway (SWR) said the passenger train services on the ghat section has been restored after the boulders were removed through blasting. “The and track has been restored since Thursday morning and trains are running normally in the section,” the release added.

The SWR said the railway staff undertook massive restoration work at the location in hostile weather conditions to clear the debris from the stretch. Five excavating machines were put into use and more than 100 railway staff and labourers worked round the clock to clear the debris and several boulder infringing on track just out of the mouth of the tunnel between Shirivagilu and Subramanya road, it said.

The first landslide during this Monsoon had occurred on July 4 and services were resumed a day after. Another landslide had occurred on July 9 affecting the services, which were restored the next day itself.