Kerala Landslide Derails Bilaspur‑Tirunelveli Express, Six Trains Cancelled

For the past few days Kerala has been drenched in nonstop rain, and the deluge finally took a dangerous turn near the Parassala railway station in the state’s southern tip. A massive landslide poured down onto the tracks just as the Bilaspur‑Tirunelveli Express was barreling through, forcing the locomotive to jump the rails.

The loco pilot, thinking quickly, halted train 22619 at around 2:19 a.m. The crew soon realised the engine had derailed, and railway officials scrambled to bring a backup engine to the scene. While the backup hauled the coaches forward, workers in orange‑high‑visibility jackets began clearing debris and repairing the line.

Because the blockage was serious enough to threaten the safety of the entire route, the railway board decided to pull six passenger services that run between Neyyattinkara and Tirunelveli. Those trains were cancelled outright, and schedules were rewritten for the rest of the day.

In a parallel move, the South Western Railway announced a one‑way special express to help manage the holiday rush. The Mysuru‑Virangana Lakshmibai Jhansi special will depart Mysuru at 2 p.m. on October 23 and reach Jhansi the following morning, stopping at major hubs like Bengaluru, Secunderabad and Nagpur. It will run with 20 coaches, including sleeper, general and divyang‑friendly compartments.

Travelers are advised to keep checking official railway updates, as the situation remains fluid. The rescue and repair crews are working through the night, hoping to get the line back to normal as soon as possible.