HASSAN: Train services between Bengaluru and Mangaluru were halted on Saturday and Sunday as a precautionary measure as a boulder slipped precariously close to the railway track following incessant rain between Sakleshpur-Subramanya railway stations, according to officials of South Western Railways.
“The boulder is so huge that it requires blasting to prevent it from falling on to the tracks. The boulder slip was noticed on Friday around 6 PM,” stated a railway officials supervising restoration work at the site at Sirivagilu in between Sakleshpur and Subramanya railway section.
To make matters worse for officials of South Western Railways, heavy rain continue to lash Western Ghats.
“Personnel have been asked to arrive at the site to take-up blasting work,” a SWR official said but declined to divulge details on methods of blasting likely to be employed to move the boulder.
A press release by Yatish, Senior Divisional Operations Manager, SWR, stated that lose soil in the form slurry has deposited on the tracks and railway staff was continuously working to clear the debris despite the downpour.
According to Mr Yatsih, Yeshwathpura-Mangaluru express will not run on Sunday while another train from Mangaluru to Yeshwathpura on Monday has been cancelled.
In addition to cancellation of trains, Bengalauru-Karwar train and from Karwar to Bengaluru train journey via Hassan has also been partially cancelled on July 20 and 21. The press release states that Bengaluru-Kannur/Karwar and Kannur/Karwar to Bangaluru trains were diverted on July 20.
