A broken Knuckle Separates 18 Carriages From A Tamil Nadu Train
There were 1,800 passengers on Cheran Express at the time of the incident. No one was injured. The train was delayed by two hours and 40 minutes
On Saturday night at Tiruvallur station, six coaches coupled to the locomotive came loose after a coupler linking the S7 and S8 coaches of the Chennai-Coimbatore Cheran Express became detached because of a cracked knuckle. This left 18 coaches behind. A severe accident was avoided, according to sources, because the train was stopped right away. However, no one was hurt when there were 1,800 passengers aboard the train. There were issues for the passengers as a result of the two hours and 40 minute train delay. Officials from Southern Railway announced that a high-level investigation into the incident will be ordered.
The passengers in coaches S7, S8, and S9 on the Coimbatore-bound train from Chennai heard a loud boom at 10.45 p.m. on Saturday while it was transitioning from the fast line to the slow line at Tiruvallur station. Around 18 coaches, beginning with S7, became detached and became trapped at the station's fourth platform. An assistant loco pilot who noted a sharp dip in the locomotive's pressure gauge abruptly stopped the train and informed the station manager at Tiruvallur. While S7 and the subsequent 17 coaches remained in their wake, six coaches advanced by roughly 100 meters.
Upon inspection, it was discovered that the coupler between coaches S8 and S7 had a damaged knuckle, which had caused the coaches to become uncoupled. A team of employees and representatives from the engineering and Basin Bridge coach maintenance depots soon arrived at Tiruvallur station at around 12.30 a.m. on the Gorakhpur-Kochuveli Raptisagar Express. According to official sources, the coupler was changed, and around 1.25am the train departed from the station.
Sources claim that the Coimbatore depot handled the principal maintenance for Cheran Express. For passenger trains, the coupler's maximum loading capacity is 47 tons, while for cargo trains, it is 59 tonnes. Thiruvananthapuram-Chennai mail now includes a rake link for the Cheran Express' LHB rake. The train that travelled from Thiruvananthapuram to Chennai was headed for Coimbatore, where pit line maintenance was planned for Sunday.
Furthermore, in March 2018, a suburban train disengaged in Urapakkam, leaving a number of carriages behind. Following an examination, it was discovered that the occurrence resulted from a coach coupler problem. Additionally, the rake needed periodic overhauling (PoH) maintenance. Due to the material's lapse in warranty, the railways were unable to take any action against the supplier.