RailEnquiry

A major train accident was averted on Thursday following the timely alert provided by some youngsters who spotted a crack in the railway track that passed through NGGO Colony near Rakkipalayam on the Coimbatore – Mettupalayam section.

According to residents in the area, some youngsters who were passing by the railway track during the early hours of Thursday noticed the crack.

They immediately alerted a railway lineman who informed the railway authorities and halted the Coimbatore - Mettupalayam Passenger Train, which usually passed by the location around 8.15 a.m.

Railway maintenance personnel rushed to the spot and carried out emergency repair works.

The train, which was delayed by nearly an hour, was instructed to travel at a speed of 10 km per hour while crossing the damaged portion of the track.

Sources said that full repair works were completed by around 1 p.m. after which trains were allowed to pass through at the regular speed. The cause of the crack is yet to be ascertained. Further investigations are under way.