Railways Sets Up Help Desk, To Take Relatives To Mishap Site
D Madhavan & V Ayyappan TNN
Feb 14, 2009
Chennai: The scroll on the television screens on the derailment of Howrah-Chennai Coromandel Express near Jajpur Road railway station in Orissa shocked Kaushik Rane, who runs a textile company in Chennai. His newly-married brother, A Dutta (28), was in coach number S3 of the train. “I don’t know what happened to my brother. I tried calling the station on phone but no one answered. I came here to get more details,” he said. He was among the first to come to Central inquiring about the train that derailed at 7.45 pm. More people, relatives of passengers, were trickling in as officials at the Chennai Central called travelling ticket examiners back to duty after they received information about the accident. The train was scheduled to reach Chennai Central station at 5.30 pm on Saturday. “The S3 coach, in which more than 40 passengers were bound for Chennai, has suffered the maximum damage. All the 24 coaches were running full. We are told that S1 to S4 capsized and S5 to S7 derailed. So far, we know that all AC coaches and one unreserved coach are safe. We have set up two hotlines. We are calling back all our officials to handle the crisis. Two special counters will be opened for people who wish to cancel tickets. We will add an additional coach to Saturday’s Coromandel Express to help relatives of passengers visit Orissa,” said S Ananth Raman, chief commercial manager (passenger marketing). Southern Railway officials have started tracing addresses of passengers using the chart retrieved from the reservation system. “The train is highly popular among Bengali patients who travel to Chennai to undergo medical treatment,” said a railway official. Passengers’ relatives are yet to reach the railway station. Meanwhile, Southern Railway has cancelled Saturday’s Howrah Mail because of the accident. The rake of the express that met with the accident was to be operated as Howrah Mail on Saturday.
HELPLINE NUMBERS
JAJPUR
0674-2303728
CHENNAI
044-25024545, 044-25024548, 044-25357386, 044-25344854
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