Rains snap rail traffic in capital

Thiruvananthapuram: Torrential rain, landslips and retention wall collapse near the central railway station here around 4 a.m. led to the cancellation of nine trains and the suspension of rail services for nearly five hours on Wednesday.

Long-distance passengers and commuters who reached the station were shocked to see the tracks flooded in the overnight downpour. Cancellations and rescheduling of services affected  passengers  with many returning home or reaching their offices late.

Earth caved in at Valiyasala and near Amayizhanchan canal in the central Thampanoor area, notorious for flooding during the seasonal rains. Workers toiled in the wee hours to clear  submerged tracks but slush and heavy downpour slowed down the repair work.

Clogged drains and ineffective storm water projects left almost all low-lying areas in the city inundated.  The city recorded 9 cm of rainfall on Tuesday night leaving areas, including Manacaud, Karimadom, Thampanoor and Enchakkal bypass area flooded.

The worst-hit were daily commuters who  travel  by Venad, Parasuram and  Janashatabdi trains  to Ernakulam side. To add to their woes, heavy rain  in Kollam and disruption at Kazhakuttom  caused problems.  As a result, many commuters reached the offices late.

KSRTC Executive Director K.M. Irshad told DC that they operated extra schedules to major destinations in the state to clear the  rush. The  railways cancelled  express trains like Venad and Janshatabdi, passengers to Nagercoil and the Kanyakumari-Kollam MEMU.  Many trains were partially cancelled. Madurai-Punalur passenger was cut short at Thiruvananthapuram. Chennai and Maveli express trains began from Kollam.

The Nagercoil-Mangalore express terminated at Nemom.  Parasuram express from Mangalore to Nagercoil was terminated at Thrissur. The Nagercoil- Kottayam operated only till Thiruvananthapuram. Bangalore-Kochuveli express was terminated at Kollam.