Southern Railway orders enquiry after freight train fire near Tiruvallur

The southern Raiwat has formed a four-member high level committee to investigate the fire accident and derailment of freight wagons near Tiruvallur railway station. 

More than 12 wagons of a freight train carrying diesel from Harbour to Wallajah siding caught fire, with six wagons derailed on July 13. The fire disrupted several long-distance train services with many trains cancelled, a few diverted and other short terminated, causing severe inconvenience to thousands of passengers. 

The high-level committee includes Nithin Norbert, Deputy Chief Signal Officer, as the convenor. The members are Deputy Chief Mechanical Engineer (Freight) A. Mohammed Shameem, Deputy Chief Engineer (General) R. Narayan, and Deputy Chief Security Commissioner (Headquarters) Valleswara Babuji Thokala, to identify the cause of accident and recommend measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.

On Tuesday, the committee called in 16 railway staff from the Chennai division for an enquiry, along with relevant records. Those summoned included the loco pilot and senior assistant loco pilot of the freight train, the Mangalore Chennai mail (12602) loco pilot and assistant loco pilot, Tiruvallur station master, and commercial supervisor of the freight train. The committee also plans to questionthe shift supervisor of the Bharat Petroleum Corporation limited (BPCL).