Around 05:30 hrs today, 13th July 2025, few intermediate wagons of an oilloaded goods train carrying diesel from Chennai Harbour to Walajah Road Siding, caught fire while exiting Tiruvallur railway station and many other wagons (3rd from Engine onwards) also derailed. Upon noticing the fire in 3rd wagon, the loco pilot immediately applied the emergency brakes and Station Master, Tiruvallur, switched off the overhead (OHE) power supply as a precautionary safety measure. However, by the timethe train was brought to a halt, the fire spread upto 19th wagon. Consequently, the train operations in the important Chennai – Arrakonam section, linking Chennai with Bangalore, Kerala and Renugunta/Tirupati had to be suspended. 12 Mail/Express trains scheduled to commence from or terminating at Chennai Central were cancelled, and several other trains were either diverted or short-terminated.
The General Manager & Divisional Railway Manager with senior officials of Southern Railway, are at site to monitor the rescue & restoration operations in close coordination with District Administration, NDRF and Fire & Rescue Services. Residents in the vicinity were evacuated as precautionary measure, though there has been no injury to any person. Meanwhile, stranded passengers bound for Chennai at nearby stations and in trains halted enroute were provided with alternative transportation arrangements through MTC buses.
From the goods train, 30 nos. unaffected wagons and the locomotivewere safely detached and isolated from the accident site. While 18 wagons gutted in the fire and four trailing wagons were safely removed from the incident zone.
The DOWN line from Chennai to Bengaluru and Mangaluru via Jolarpettai will be restored for traffic, by 15.15 hours of today, tentatively.
Railways remains fully committed to promptly resolving the issue and ensuring swift restoration of normal train operations, prioritizing passenger safety and service continuity at every step. All-out efforts are underway on war footing to mitigate the situation and restore train services at the earliest.
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