Title - 2 killed while crossing railway tracks near Avadi

CHENNAI: Two people who were crossing the railway tracks were knocked down by trains in the city on Sunday.

A 25-year-old man was run over by the Chennai-Kovai Express on Sunday near Avadi. A woman's body was recovered about 200 metres from the same accident spot. Her identity is yet to be ascertained.

Police said Silambarasan was employed in a private company in Ambattur and was crossing the tracks. They suspect he was speaking on the phone and had not seen or heard the approaching train. When the railway police came to move his body to a mortuary for postmortem, they found the body of a woman nearby.

A train passes this stretch approximately every 15 minutes. Railway officials said some stretches of railway track have walls alongside but people still trespass on railway property and cross the tracks. Some passengers lean out of the doors while the train is moving, and cause harm to themselves and others. They said many people talk on cell phones and are unaware of approaching trains.