For many of us – day begins and ends with MRTS - Mass Rapid Transit System from Chennai Beach to Velachery; the route is largely elevated. From Beach to Chennai Park Townstation, the line runs at grade, parallel to the suburban railway network. Following Chennai Park Town station, the line's first phase becomes elevated and follows the course of the Buckingham Canal, which runs parallel to the Coromandel Coast. The line remains elevated for the alignment of the second phase up to Perungudi, after which it returns to an at-grade section at Velachery. The 19 km (12 mi) line from Chennai Beach to Velachery is 15 km (9 mi) elevated and 4 km (2 mi) at surface- has 18 stations between. From 14th May 2014, MRTS stopped at another new station – not exactly new, built and awaiting this day for long …. It is ‘Mundaka Kanni Amman Koil Station’. Yesterday there was some trouble - rail services on the MRTS stretch from Chennai Beach to Velachery were disrupted following derailment of a train near the Light House station. Train 41056 from Velachery derailed at 12.35 p.m. between Mundakakanniammankoil Station and Light House station.
“The second coach
from the guard derailed and none was injured. The ladies coach was rerailed at
14.35 hours. At least six trains have been cancelled,” said a railway
spokesperson. This photo taken from The Hindu shows the
wheels off the track – the train reportedly stopped nearer the station –
passengers got down and walked down the track to the station – none were
injured. A committee reportedly has been constituted to ascertain the cause of
derailment and the report would be ready in 10 days according to an
Official.
After a four-hour
disruption, the services resumed at 4.45 p.m. The Hindu reports that the derailment
has thrown into high relief the issue of manpower shortage. Railway sources say
many vacant posts have not been filled, which has resulted in lack of
sufficient manpower for carrying out maintenance of the tracks. The report adds that Southern Railway General Manager Vashishta
Johri, however brushed aside this charge
and said periodic maintenance was carried out by electrical supervisors. According
to railway employees, vacancies in the posts of train examiner and khalasi are
not being filled. It is believed that this attitude stems from an anticipation
of a future when such work will be handed over to private operators. In an
earlier derailment, not too far from the current location, poor maintenance of
tracks was cited as the major reason. Fortunately the mishap was not major, none were injured – something
intriguing on what is derailment !
The track on a
railway, also known as the permanent way, is the structure consisting of the
rails, fasteners, sleepers and ballast (or slab track), plus the underlying
subgrade. It enables trains to move by providing a dependable surface for their
wheels to roll. Tracks where electric
trains or electric trams run are equipped with an electrification system such
as an overhead electrical power line or an additional electrified rail. The
term permanent way also refers to the track in addition to lineside structures
such as fences etc.
Notwithstanding
modern technical developments, the overwhelmingly dominant track form worldwide
consists of flat-bottom steel rails supported on timber or pre-stressed
concrete sleepers which are themselves
laid on crushed stone ballast. Railroad tracks guide the train, acting as the
low-friction surface on which the train runs and often transferring the weight
of the train to the ground below. The rails
consists of two parallel steel rails set a fixed distance apart, called the
gauge. The rails are connected to each other by sleepers, which may be made of
wood or concrete. The rails are usually bolted to the ties. The ties are set
into the loose gravel or ballast. Ballast often consists of loose stones that
help transfer the load to the underlying foundation. The ties "float"
on the ballast and the weight of the track keeps them stabilized.
Steel tracks can be
straight or curved to steer the train since steel is easily bent into shape.
Depending upon the topography, some curves may be slightly angled or banked to
help the train stay on the track as it negotiates the curve. At various points
along the track, rails may have switches, which can move a train from one track
to another.
Trains run on tracks ~and
this one went off the track – services were restored before evening peak
traffic – not many knew or cared to know that there was this derailment – some workers
worked hard to restore and place the system back in place.
Miles away, in
Northfield, Vermont – an Amtrak passenger train derailed injuring six people,
officials said. There were no fatalities. A spokeswoman with the Montpelier Fire
Department, said at least two cars went off the track and over an embankment. The
train, the Vermonter, was headed from Vermont to Washington, D.C. Federal
investigators said the preliminary cause of the accident was a rock slide in
the path of the train. A full investigation to confirm the cause is underway,
officials said.
Photo credit : CNN
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
6th Oct 2015.
