Tamil Nadu: Passenger train coach derails in Villupuram, no injuries reported

According to Southern Railway, normal train services resumed at 8:40 am, three hours after the derailment.

A coach wheel of a Puducherry-bound passenger train derailed during the shunting process at the railway yard in Tamil Nadu's Villupuram on Tuesday morning.

People gather at the site after a passenger train derailed near Tamil Nadu's Villupuram Railway Station.(PTI)

In a statement, Southern Railway said while a few passengers were on board the MEMU (Mainline Electric Multiple Unit) train, no injuries were reported.

Southern Railway also noted that the as main line remained clear, there was no disruption of traffic on it.

“However, movement towards Puducherry was briefly affected due to the derailment. The entire line has been cleared for traffic at 8.40 hrs today and normal train services have resumed,” the statement read.

"Passengers waiting for this train service were accommodated in train no 11005 Dadar-Puducherry express which was halted at all stations enroute to Puducherry to ensure their travel without further delay," it added.

The MEMU, which left Villpuram at 5:25 am, was crossing a curve when the coach derailed and the loco pilot swiftly stopped the train. A MEMU train is short-distance train covering about 38 kilometres.

The Villupuram Railway Police have begun their in-depth inquiry into the incident.

Just last week, a goods train had derailed near Srinavaspuram in the Dachapelli mandal of Andhra Pradesh's Palnadu district. The train was headed towards the Vishnupuram Rashi Cement Factory for loading cement.

In view of the incident, railway officials at the time diverted the trains on the Guntur-Hyderabad route, making them take the Vijayawada path.

In October 2023, a major accident took place in the southern state when at least 12 coaches of the Bagmati Express train -- travelling from Karnataka's Mysuru to Bihar's Darbhanga -- derailed at Kavarapettai, which is just 40 kilometres away from Chennai.

Despite receiving a green signal to pass through the main line the passenger train had entered the loop line, resulting in the accident which left 19 persons injured.

However, no casualties or life-threatening injuries were reported after the accident.

Around 1,360 passengers were on board the train at the time of the incident, Tiruvallur collector T Prabhushankar had said.

(with inputs from agencies)