Landslide near Parassala derails locomotive and disrupts Kerala rail services

A landslide near the Parassala railway station in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram district derailed the locomotive of the Bilaspur-Tirunelveli Express early Thursday morning. The incident occurred at approximately 2:19 am following heavy rainfall in the region.

Southern Railway confirmed that all passengers and railway staff are safe. An accident relief train and personnel were dispatched to the site to begin restoration work. To manage the disruption, the Bilaspur-Tirunelveli Express will now terminate at Neyyattinkara, with buses arranged to transport passengers for the partially cancelled section between Neyyattinkara and Tirunelveli.

The landslide has caused significant service disruptions, including the full cancellation of six passenger trains and delays for several other services, such as the Kanniyakumari-Mangaluru Central Parasuram Express. Multiple other trains, including the Tambaram-Thiruvananthapuram Central Special and the Madurai-Punalur Express, were held en route. The India Meteorological Department had previously issued weather alerts for the district due to forecasted heavy rain.