18 wagons of goods train catch fire near Chennai; train services to Bengaluru and Mumbai affected

Chennai: Eighteen wagons of a goods train carrying fuel from Chennai to Walajah Road were completely gutted after they caught fire near Tiruvallur in the early hours of Sunday. The incident disrupted train services on the busy Chennai-Arakkonam route that connects the Tamil Nadu capital with cities like Bengaluru, Mumbai, Mysuru, and Coimbatore.

However, there was no death or injuries in the accident that occurred at around 5.30 am on Sunday when the goods train with 54 wagons was exiting the Tiruvallur railway station. As a result of the fire, many other wagons too derailed and the loco pilot immediately applied the emergency brakes and the Station Master of Tiruvallur railway station 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 up to 19th wagon. As many as 30 unaffected wagons and the locomotive were safely detached and isolated from the accident site. While 18 wagons gutted in the fire, four trailing wagons were safely removed from the incident zone,” the Southern Railway said in a statement.

It took nearly 11 hours for fire fighters to put out the raging fire as thick black plumes emerged out of the goods train for several hours together. Hundreds of people living near the tracks were immediately evacuated from their homes and accommodated at various government community centres in and around Tiruvallur.

Normal train services resumed at 7 pm on Sunday even as the SR decided to run special trains to clear the extra rush.

The fire caused inconvenience to thousands of passengers travelling between Chennai and Bengaluru, Mysuru, Salem, Coimbatore, Tirupati, and Mumbai, with Southern Railway cancelling at least 12 trains and diverting dozens of others through Gudur station in Andhra Pradesh, and through other routes.

Three Vande Bharat and Shatabdi trains from Chennai to Mysuru and Coimbatore were cancelled, as were the Double Decker Express and other trains from Chennai to Bengaluru, while several trains from Karnataka to Chennai were short-terminated or originated from Arakkonam.

The Tamil Nadu government arranged transport services from various stations to Chennai and other districts to help passengers reach their destinations.

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.

Officials said about 27,000 litres of diesel were being transported to Walajah Road from the Indian Oil Corporation refinery in Manali near Chennai. As the fire continued for about five hours, the district administration used foam to reduce the smoke and extinguish the flames.

“Since the burning material is fuel, we are unable to extinguish it with water. We are using foam to douse the fire, and another 10 foam-based fire tenders are rushing in from various districts,” Tiruvallur District Collector M Pratap said.