A local train derailed at the Beach station in Chennai on April 24, Sunday but there was no casualty, the Southern Railway said. The empty Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) was being moved from the yard to the platform and was likely to be proceeding on the busy Beach-Tambaram route, Southern Railway sources said. The mishap did not affect operations on different routes, a Southern Railway statement said.
"Today, while placing an empty EMU rake from shed line to Platform No. 1 at Chennai Beach, the rake had overshot the buffer end of the platform and damaged Platform No. 1. The rake was fully empty and no passengers were on board. There was no injury to any passengers or anyone on the platform. Shunter jumped out of the rake and no injury sustained," it said.
The platform shelter was damaged in the process. A brake failure is suspected to be the reason for the incident. "Due to this incident, no train services have been affected between Chennai-Chengalpattu and Beach-Velachery MRTS sections. Trains are being run as per normal schedule," the release added.
Trains will continue to run normally from other platforms at Chennai Beach, it said, adding, that Platform No. 1 will also be restored for traffic in a few hours. "Enquiry at the appropriate level will be conducted to assess the cause of the incident. All the officials concerned are at site and restoration work has started," the release added. TV visuals showed the rake badly damaged as it jutted out of the platform and crashed into the station wall.
On Monday morning, the Divisional Railway Manager, Chennai, Southern Railway, shared an update on Twitter and said, “The latest update this morning is that our restoration staff worked through the night, re-railed the coaches, cleared the track and we have resumed train services from Platform no.1 this morning. We also ensured that there was no cancellation of a single train service.”
The latest update this morning is that our restoration staff worked through the night, re-railed the coaches, cleared the track and we have resumed train services from Platform no.1 this morning. We also ensured that there was no cancellation of a single train service. https://t.co/L3JTOBCMZt
— DRM Chennai (@DrmChennai) April 25, 2022