Six people were injured when the Chennai-Trivandrum Mail (train no. 12623) derailed and collided with an Electrical Multiple Unit at Pattabhiram railway station, about 30 kilometres from Chennai on Thursday evening.
Sources said the EMU was on its way to Pattabhiram Military Siding station and was crossing the main line track when the locomotive of the Mail collided with it. While it is still not known what exactly had caused the accident, sources suggest that it could have been due to a signalling failure or also due to the driver of the Mail loco missing the signal.
The injured were rushed to a government hospital in Avadi. EMUs from Tiruttani towards Moore Market Complex were detained at Pattabhiram and other stations in between. Similarly, all suburban services from Moore Market Complex towards Tiruvallur and Tiruttani were cancelled, resulting in several thousand commuters getting stranded.
