Accident-prone Chitheri rewinds to 2011 train crash

By J  Shanmugha Sundaram | ENS - VELLORE

Published: 11th April 2013

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  The derailed bogies of the Muzaffarpur-Yashvantpur Express near Chitheri in Vellore on Wednesday | Dinesh S

Chitheri, a village situated around 7 km away from the Arakkonam Railway Junction in Vellore district, has been frequently witnessing train accidents for the past five to seven years. More than 100 passengers have sustained injuries in rail accidents at the spot since September 2011, reports said.

“Train accidents have become common here. Since 2007, a total of 12 accidents have taken place on this spot. This includes three accidents involving express trains and one passenger train. Goods trains frequently derail here. The main reason for the accidents is the poor maintenance of joining point of the loop line and the main line between Chitheri and Anwarthikhanpet,” claimed joint secretary of Arakkonam railway passengers association J K Raghunathan.

However, the worst among the accidents was the one on September 13, 2011, in which 11 passengers of the Arakkonam-Katpadi Passenger were killed and 76 others were injured when a speeding Chennai-Beach Cantonment Mainline EMU rammed a passenger train.

The victims, all from Mel Avatham, Kezh Avatham, Chitheri, Anawarthikhanpet and Melgandigai villages in Arakkonam taluk, were returning in the passenger train after work in Chennai.

The MEMU rammed the rear of the slow-moving passenger train, an accident that  the railway officials called ‘human error’.

The police, in the 395-page chargesheet, stated that MEMU driver A  Rajkumar, who was speaking on the phone while driving, jumped the red signal and violated the speed limit. This had led to the collision.

Krish Kumar, who was working as the Station Master in Walajapet Railway Station and a resident of Mullipalayam, was one of the victims.

Kumar had boarded the passenger train after buying a gift for his son’s first birthday. Wednesday’s accident occurred just a kilometre away from the spot of the 2011 accident.

Former Pattali Makkal Katchi MP from Arakkonam R Velu, who urged the railway authorities to take action to prevent such accidents in the future, also called upon his party men to arrange for special pujas with the help of the residents of Chitheri and neighbouring villages, at the spot.

He further said that the railway officials were continuing with the blame game after every such accident, but they failed to act to prevent such accidents and ensure the safety of the railway passengers.

Surendaran of Chitheri claimed a major accident occurred 17 years ago near their village. A speeding express train hit a stationed goods train in the accident and claimed more than 50 people’s lives