Rail traffic along the Kottayam-Ernakulam route faced major disruptions when a high-voltage overhead cable snapped and fell on the Thiruvananthapuram-New Delhi Kerala Express, near Kothanallur, between Ettumanur and Kuruppanthara stations.
Railway officials said the incident took place around 4 p.m. when the train was crossing the stretch. The train was stopped immediately. It was later shunted to Piravom using a relief loco engine.
Eyewitnesses said the suspended cable snapped and remained stuck on the coaches, triggering panic. Officials, however, said there was no danger to the passengers as they could not have come into contact with the live line.
“Supply on the line was affected and this had led to suspension of traffic. The line will be cleared at the earliest,” said a railway official. The suspension of traffic, according to him, did not have a major impact as rail traffic in the State already faced disruptions due to the accident at Puthukkad the other day.
Officialss are examining whether the accident was caused by the train's pantograph, the equipment atop the train engine that draws power from the over headlines, getting entangled in the wire,
