Title - One killed, 33 injured in rail derailment near Arakkonam

One person was killed and 33 others injured when 11 bogies of Bangalore-bound Muzaffarpur- Yesvantpur Express derailed at Sitheri, about 90km from Chennai, early this morning.

Vellore Superintendent of Police I Eswaran told PTI one passenger was killed and 33 injured in the mishap. The injured have been admitted to the government hospital at Arakkonam.

The derailment occurred at about 0550 hours, a railway official said.

Top officials of the Southern Railway visited the spot and commenced an initial probe into the cause of the derailment.

Rail traffic on the Arakkonam sector was disrupted. Railways cancelled about seven trains, including those bound for Bangalore, and diverted some others.

Railway officials have pressed several buses into service to ferry stranded passengers, while at least 200 travellers continued their onward journey to Bangalore by Guwahati Express.

A Southern Railway press release later said 11 trains had been fully cancelled, three partially cancelled, four trains diverted, and five trains regulated.

Trains fully cancelled are the Chennai Central-Coimbatore-Chennai Kovai Expresses, Chennai Central- Bangalore-Chennai Central Brindavan Express, Chennai Central- Coimbatore-Chennai Central Duronto express, the Chennai Central-Mangalore West Coast Express,Chennai Central-Bangalore Express, Chennai Central-Coimbatore Intercity Express, Chennai Central-Thiruvananthapuram Express and Chennai Central-Bangalore Lalbaugh Express.

The release said the Bangalore-Chennai central Lalbaugh Express is cancelled between Katpadi and Chennai Central, the Coimbatore-Chennai Central Intercity Express canclled between Salem and Chennai Central and Jolarpettai-Arakkonam Express cancelled between Wallajah Road and Arakkonam.

The diverted trains are Guwahati-Bangalore and Chennai Central-Sainagar Shirdi Express, which would be diverted via Renigunta and Pakala,Bilaspur-Tirunelveli, Howrah-Yeshwantpur Duronto Express, which will be diverted via Katpadi, Ernakulam Guwahati Express, which will be diverted via Katpadi and Patna Bangalore Express, which will be diverted via Gudalur.

Regulated trains include the Madurai-Chennai Central express at Mahendravadi, Mangalore-Chennai Central Express at Wallajah Road, Tirupattur-Chennai Central Express at Katpadi, Thiruvananthapuram Central-Chennai Central Express at Gudiyattam and Bangalore-Chennai Central Shatabdi Express at Katpadi.