Sothuppakkam rly boom gate collapse hits express train services, road traffic badly

CHENNAI: The Sothuppakkam railway level crossing gate near Melmaruvathur in Chengalpattu collapsed on Monday disrupting vehicle traffic on the Cheyyur-Vandavasi road for more than two hours.

Train traffic was also disrupted between Chengalpattu-Villupuram-Chengalpattu and they were halted at various places.

The railway gate was broken two months ago, hit by a lorry. It was temporarily repaired which collapsed again on Monday morning at 9.30 am. Vehicle movement was completely stopped on the route leading to chaos. Three express trains (Cholan Express, Kacheguda Express and Pallavan Express) were delayed by more than 15 minutes because of the issue. After closing with the emergency sliding boom, normal road traffic was resumed, said a Southern Railway official.

Railway gate LC gate no 74 located on the Seyyur-Vandavasi road, which is the longest road connecting the East Coast Road and Vandavasi in Tiruvannamalai district, sees heavy traffic most the times. Commuters were hit in the busy stretch because of the incident.

Chengalpattu-Villupuram-Chengalpattu trains are also operated through this route. On one side of this railway gate, there are towns like Kadapakkam, Koovathur, and Cheyyur, and on the other side, there are towns like Sothupakkam, Sithamoor, Vandavasi, and Polur.

The mishap happening on the first day of the week disrupted normal life in the stretch. The public going to work was affected, as vehicles piled up for more than two kilometres on both sides of the railway gate. The public also got into arguments with the gatekeeper. The gate was later temporarily repaired by the railway workers from Chengalpattu and Madhuranthakam in another few hours and the traffic was resumed.

Due to this, those who came in vehicles had to take an alternative route of more than 4 kilometres to reach Acharapakkam. Those who were going on two-wheelers dangerously crossed the tracks through the damaged railway gate.

Meanwhile, due to the collapse of this railway gate, trains passing through this route did not receive signals. Trains that were supposed to pass through this route were stopped at various places. Trains from Chennai to Tiruchy, including the Cholan Express, Guruvayur Express, and Pondicherry Express, were stopped at Melmaruvathur and Madhurantakam railway stations. The trains, which were stopped for more than half an hour, were then operated on that route at a very low speed.

Public claims that the railways had approved the construction of a railway foot-over bridge at this location two years ago. There has been a long delay for the work, they said. An official claimed that it is not of major issue and has happened when vehicles hit the boom and would be repaired soon and a fine would be imposed on the vehicles.