Goods train derails, services interrupted

Visakhapatnam: Passenger train services between Visakhapatnam and Araku were interrupted on Friday following the derailment of a goods train near Borra Caves railway station.

The locomotive of a goods train running from Visakhapatnam to Kirandul derailed near the Borra Caves, however, no causalities or major loss was reported.

The derailment took place at around 6.30am, causing interruption to the movement of the Visakhapatnam-Araku-Kirandul passenger train and Visakhapatnam-Araku Dasara special train, said a railway spokesperson. While the Dasara special train ran two hours late, the Kirandul train was running four hours late, he said.

Speaking to TOI, Waltair division senior divisional commercial manager G Suneel Kumar said that the derailment of the goods train that happened on Friday morning was a minor accident and no major loss was reported. Moreover, derailments along the Kottavalasa-Kirandul railway line have come down in the last few years due to extensive safety steps taken by the railways.

The railway spokesperson said that only two incidents have occurred so far this financial year against at least 10 to 15 incidents during the the southwest monsoon in previous years.

Safety measures like diversion of waterfalls from the hills, building retention walls and 24-hour monitoring of the railway tracks at isolated places are some steps to check derailments, said the railway officer.

Meanwhile, tourism minister Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao, who visited Araku railway station on Friday, instructed officials to create tourist-friendly facilities at Araku and ensure the safety of trains and passengers.