Kerala train derailment: Driver didn't see anything amiss during accident

Karukutty (Angamaly): It was raining heavily, but the locopilot got clearance to proceed at a speed of 80 kmph through the section when coaches of the Thiruvananthapuram-Mangalore derailed just before entering the Karukutty station. “I saw nothing unusual on the track and the signals were also clear. The engine and the first few boggies passed the section and it was the sixth coach and the ones behind it that got derailed. I came to know about it when the air pressure signal in the engine dropped alarmingly. Suddenly I felt like the train is being pulled back," said K.G. Aji Kumar, who was the locopilot of the ill-fated train.

The ‘speed chart’ showed the train was moving at a speed of 70 kmph through the section and according to senior railway officials, the chances of coaches barging into each other and capsizing are more in such cases. “The fact that the coaches deployed were below five years and in excellent quality averted such a mishap. The sole bars overcame the collision impact and had no major damage. Luckily, one of the derailed coaches hit and broke a signal post. The signal was cut and automatically the trains in a five-km radius were halted thanks to the Intermediate Block Signalling system which was installed in the section. The Chennai-Thiruvananthapuram Express was fast approaching from the opposite direction through the downline track,” a senior official said.

Meanwhile, locals who rushed to the spot hearing the screams of commuters, braved an unpleasant weather, darkness and also poisonous snakes in the nearby bushes, carried out the initial rescue operations. “A couple of Vellikettan (common krait) snakes were caught from the site. Had they run into passengers, it could have been really dangerous. The commuters panicked and jumped out of the coaches and started running by carrying their bags through the same bushes. We asked them to step back and helped them reach the nearby bylane after bringing torches. The area was dark and it was raining,” said Joseph Narikulam, who was residing in a house close to the accident spot. He was the first to reach the accident spot.