Landslide blocks Konkan route

DHNS

• Trains diverted, cancelled; M’lore, Shimoga, Udupi get heavy showers

Mangalore, 27 June 2010: It would have been a catastrophe had there been any train on the stretch of tracks through hillocks on the Konkan railway route, when land slid and fell on it at two places in the early hours of Saturday.

Heavy rain that lashed the region caused the land to slip at two spots between Padil and Thokur junction, 10 km from Mangalore railway station. The tracks were buried in a heap of boulders and mud after the landslide, causing heavy water logging in the area.

The tracks come under the Southern Railways, though it is part of the Konkan railway stretch. Many trains that regularly run along the route had to be either diverted or cancelled due to the landslide.

Minutes after the landslide, railway workers in the area informed Mangalore Junction of the incident, who quickly swung into action. Subsequently, all the trains coming from Kerala were stopped at Mangalore while those coming to Mangalore from Goa and Udupi were stopped at Suratkal.

Trains along the Konkan route that were diverted from Mangalore to take the Palakkad-Erode-Dharmavaram route to their destinations include the Ernakulam-Okha Express, Ernakulam- Nizamuddin Mangala Express and Trivandrum-Lokamanya Tilak Nethravathi Express. The Trivandrum-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, which arrived at Mangalore, was diverted via Arsikere and Hubli to reach Madgaon, officials at the Palakkad Junction said.

Trains to Mangalore, like the Lokmanya Tilak-Mangalore Matsyagandha Express, which had to cross the path that came under the landslide, were stopped at Suratkal, after which the passengers had travel by road to reach their destinations.
Hundreds of passengers were also put into trouble due to cancellations of several trains, including the Mangalore-Madgaon Verna Passenger. Railway officials, however, claimed they had refunded the passengers of cancelled trains.

According to Southern Railway officials, train services might resume on the route by afternoon on Sunday if work on the tracks gets over by the scheduled time. Earth movers and labourers were working at the spot where land slid, they added.

Incessant rain
Apart from Mangalore, the State witnessed heavy to moderate rain in several regions including Udupi, Karwar, Shimoga and Kodagu.

In Mangalore, nearly 40 houses were inundated and 25 houses were flooded on the outskirts of the city.