The locomotive of the Bilaspur-Tirunelveli Express derailed due to a mudslip near the Parassala railway station near Thiruvananthapuram. The incident has disrupted the services along the Neyyattinkara-Parassala section.

The incident occurred at 2.19 am after Train No. 22619 was stopped following the mudslip, the Southern Railway said.

“All passengers and railway staff are safe,” the railway authorities said in a statement.

A relief locomotive was arranged immediately to move the train, while an accident relief train (ART), along with personnel and equipment, was rushed to the site to carry out restoration work and resume services.

Services disrupted
The disruption affected several trains, with three held en route. The Tambaram-Thiruvananthapuram Central Special was held at Eraniel, the Madurai-Punalur Express at North Panakudi and the Tambaram-Thiruvananthapuram Central Amrit Bharat Express at Nanguneri.

The departure of five other trains was delayed. They were the Kanniyakumari-Mangaluru Central Parasuram Express, the Nagercoil Junction-Punalur Passenger, the Thiruvananthapuram North-Nagercoil Junction Passenger, the Punalur-Kanniyakumari Passenger and the Thiruvananthapuram Central-Tambaram Express.

The Guruvayur-Chennai Egmore Express and the Pune-Kanniyakumari Express were also expected to be delayed, the Southern Railway said.

Restoration work is under way in the affected section, and train services are likely to remain disrupted until the work is completed.

Heavy rain in the region
The incident occurred amid heavy rainfall in the region. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued an orange alert for Thiruvananthapuram district on Wednesday, warning of very heavy rainfall. A yellow alert was also issued for the district from October 22 to October 25, forecasting heavy rain.