Railways fumes over rise in attack on trains in Kerala

KOZHIKODE: The Railways is upset over the increasing incidents of attack on running trains in the Kasargod sector. Besides stone pelting, the incidents of removing elastic rail (ER) clips, laying iron rod and granite stones on the rail were reported on the Kanhangad-Mangalore stretch.

Since April, six incidents of stone pelting were reported under Palakkad division of which five are in Kasargod area. In 2015, there were 12 stone-pelting cases and Kasargod had more numbers. What worries the authorities is that the culprits were booked only in a single case.

"Investigation is going on in all cases. Assuming that these are the handiwork of children and anti-social elements, we are undertaking an awareness drive in the area," said Palakkad additional divisional railway manager (ADRM) T. Rajkumar.
But the railway sources say that removing ER clips on two days (July 24 and 26) near Kasargod Railway Station cannot be ignored as 'childish' activity.

"Beyond the probe of RPF, local police should thoroughly investigate whether there was a concerted attempt of sabotage," said a top railway official, who wished anonymity. So far, officials are not satisfied with the cooperation of local police. In May 2015, police had arrested three students for trying to put granite stone on the railway track at Uppala. But they were let off after quizzing.

After that, they found a 35-kg iron rod on the rail in Manjeshwaram. In December, another granite stone was found near Kumbala Railway Station minutes before the passing of Okha Express. The removal of ER clips was detected while the tamping machine passed through the rack during an inspection.

"Many incidents were averted in the final minutes. We had identified the stretch as a high-sensitive zone," added the ADRM. He said boozing is suspected to be going on near the tracks.