Mangaluru-Bengaluru train link restored after landslide halt

Mangaluru (Karnataka), Aug 3 (PTI) Train services between Mangaluru and Bengaluru resumed on Monday night after remaining suspended for two days due to landslides triggered by heavy rain in the Western Ghats, officials said.

Rail traffic on the route was restored after railway personnel cleared mud, boulders and debris from the track between Siribagilu and Yedakumari in the Subrahmanya Road-Sakleshpur ghat section, one of the most challenging stretches on the route, they said.

According to Mysuru Divisional Railway Manager Mudit Mittal, the track was certified fit for operations at 7.25 pm on Monday, following which train services were gradually resumed.

Among the trains that resumed operations were the Vijayapura-Mangaluru Express, KSR Bengaluru-Karwar Panchaganga Express, KSR Bengaluru-Kozhikode Express and SMVT Bengaluru-Murdeshwar Express.

However, the Karwar-KSR Bengaluru Panchaganga Express (16596) remained cancelled on Monday owing to the non-availability of a rake, railway officials said.

The railway administration launched an intensive restoration exercise immediately after receiving reports of the landslide. Relief trains, engineering staff, JCB excavators and other heavy machinery were deployed to the affected site, where work continued round the clock to remove mud and rocks from the track, informed Mittal.

Engineers also strengthened the vulnerable slope using sandbags before certifying the track safe for train operations.

As the restoration work was completed only on Monday evening, most trains that resumed services on Monday night were delayed by around two hours or more, officials said. PTI