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Wagon of a freight train carrying fuel catches fire near Tiruvallur railway station

• Posted on July 13, 2025

The operation of long-distance and suburban train services went haywire, leaving thousands of passengers stranded, after a fire broke out in a wagon of a freight train carrying fuel near the Tiruvallur station on Sunday morning. The fire spread to 12 other wagons within minutes, leading to the derailment of six wagons.

The thick smoke from the burning wagons caused tension in a nearby residential area, and was visible from several kilometres away.

In a press release, Southern Railway said that around 5.30 a.m., a few intermediate wagons of the freight train carrying diesel from Chennai Harbour to Walajah Road Siding caught fire while exiting the Tiruvallur station. However, the loco pilot, on noticing the fire in the third wagon, applied the emergency brake, even as the Tiruvallur Station Master switched off the overhead power supply as a precautionary measure. But by the time the train was brought to a halt, the fire had spread to 12 other wagons.

A total of 30 unaffected wagons and the locomotive were detached and stationed at Tiruvallur.

As a result, the train operations had to be fully suspended in the Chennai-Arrakonam section that handles mail and express trains from Bengaluru, Kerala, Renigunta, and Tirupati. A total of 12 mail and express trains were cancelled, including Vande Bharat (20607) going to Mysuru from Dr. MGR Chennai Central Railway Station and the Kovai Express (12675). Several other trains were diverted or short-terminated.

The suburban train services in the western section from Arakkonam and Tiruvallur were cancelled. These services were operated only from Avadi.

While senior officials of Southern Railway, including General Manager R.N. Singh and Chennai Divisional Railway Manager Viswanath Eerya, were at the accident site throughout the day, restoration was delayed because the six wagons filled with fuel had burnt for more than six hours. Several fire tenders, alongside Fire and Rescue Services and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel, struggled to douse the fire.

Residents of the Irular Colony near the rail track were evacuated by the Tiruvallur district administration.

Southern Railway deployed a large number of maintenance workers for restoring the overhead power lines, installing new tracks in the damaged portion, and checking the signal system.

T. Radhakrishnan, who was proceeding to Bengaluru in Vande Bharat, complained that no information was provided about the cancellation of the train even as the passengers were made to sit for nearly two hours.

Southern Railway, in coordination with the Tiruvallur district administration, arranged for alternative transport for the stranded passengers bound for the city at nearby stations. Buses of the Metropolitan Transport Corporation were deployed. However, passengers complained about very few buses having been operated.

Southern Railway Chief Public Relations Officer M. Senthamil Selvan said railway workers were engaged in restoring the up and down lines, and mail and express trains would resume operation from Sunday night. However, suburban services to Tiruvallur and Arakkonam would take time to resume operation, and instead special services would be operated.

Long-distance and suburban train services disrupted by freight train fire near Tiruvallur station; passengers stranded | Source: The Hindu

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