Kochi: Hundreds of rail commuters were caught unawares as a landslide on the Konkan route forced Railways to cancel at least six long-haul trains besides diverting or short terminating several others on Friday.
“A landslide occurred between Padil and Kulashekara stations in the Mangalore Juntion– Thokur section of Palakkad division today morning. Restoration work is going on despite adverse weather conditions and we aim to restore traffic by Saturday noon,” said a railway spokesperson.
At least seven trains, including Thiruvana-nthapuram-Hazrat Nizamuddin Express, Thiruvananthapuram-Mumbai Netravati Express and Okha-Ernakulam Express scheduled on August 24, were fully cancelled while five trains were diverted and two others short-terminated.
“Our group of 42 students, including 20 girls, was on a college tour to Dandeli (Goa). We boarded Netravati Express from Kollam. However, when it reached Ernakulam, we were informed that the train was short-terminated and the service ended there. Now the whole fixture will go wrong,” said Rajeev S., a student of College of Engineering, Attingal.
The Netravati Express ran as a special train to Thiruvananthapuram, leaving Ernakulam at 3.50 pm.
Meanwhile several trains including Kochuveli-Chandigarh Express and Ernakulam-Hazrat Nizamuddin Mangala Lakshwadeep Express on August 24 will be diverted via Shornur, Podanur, Erode, Kaptpadi, Nagpur, Itarsi and Bhopal.
