3 days ago
Railway officials worried over rising number of cases of trains running over cattle affecting passenger safety in Tiruchi Division
Last Monday saw yet another case of cattle being run over on the railway track in Tiruchi division. The aerodynamic portion of the Chennai-Tirunelveli Vande Bharat Express was damaged after it ran over a cattle between Vriddhachalam and Ariyalur, on the Villupuram-Tiruchi chord line. The train was delayed because of the incident.
The Railway Protection Force (RPF) arrested the cattle owner and booked a case against him for endangering passenger safety. The latest incident joins a long list of such instances reported within the jurisdiction of the Tiruchi Railway Division this year.
According to RPF authorities, 219 cases of cattle being run over by trains were reported in Tiruchi Division, which is spread over 10 revenue districts, since January this year. Of these, 65 cases were reported in the four sections of Tiruverumbur-Ponmalai, Adirampattinam-Tillaivilagam, Budalur-Thanjavur and Nagapattinam-Karaikal, which are classified as 'vulnerable' stretches. Twenty-two incidents were reported on the Tiruverumbur-Ponmalai BG section alone.
Despite periodic awareness campaigns, such instances remain a cause for concern for the railway authorities as these endanger passenger safety besides disrupting train services, said a senior RPF officer. The number of such incidents reported in 2024 was 345, the authorities said.
RPF holds awareness programmes every time such an incident is reported in a particular stretch. Respective local panchayats are involved in these programmes to drive home the message to the people to stay alert and ensure that cattle are kept away from the tracks, the authorities added.
