Heavy rain triggers minor landslips; Bilaspur-Tirunelveli Superfast Express loco derails at Parassala in Keralam

Representational image. | Photo Credit: M.A. Sriram Heavy rain triggered minor landslips at two locations along the railway line between Thiruvananthapuram and Nagercoil, derailing the loco of a train and disrupting the train services connecting southern Keralam with Nagercoil and Kanniyakumari on Thursday (October 22, 2026). The locomotive of the Bilaspur-Tirunelveli Superfast Express derailed near Parasala in Keralam, though no injuries were reported.The incident occurred around at 2.19 a.m., when a large portion of the earth slipped onto the rail track near Parasala after heavy rain in the region. The locomotive of the train No. 22619 Bilaspur-Tirunelveli Express was derailed after four wheels of the locomotive slipped off the track following the land slip.All passengers and railway staff are safe, while a relief locomotive pressed by the railway brought all the coaches of the derailed train back to Neyyattinkara and dispatched the passengers to various locations by road.Track restoration has been successfully completed following the rerailing and removal of the derailed locomotive. According to railway authorities, after all necessary safety inspections train services has been restored. Parasuram Express bound for Mangaluru departed Parassala and safely passed the affected section.Earlier, an Accident Relief Train (ART), along with personnel and materials, was immediately dispatched to the site to undertake restoration work and restore train services.Trains affectedThe following trains are affected due to restoration work in the Neyyattinkara-Parassala section:1. Train No. 06163 Tambaram–Thiruvananthapuram Central Special — at Eraniel.2. Train No. 16729 Madurai–Punalur Express — at North Panakudi.3. Train No. 16121 Tambaram–Thiruvananthapuram Central Amrit Bharat Express — at Nanguneri.Trains with delayed departures1. Train No. 16650 Kanniyakumari–Mangaluru Central Parasuram Express — departure from Kanniyakumari, scheduled at 3.45 a.m..,is delayed.2. Train No. 56102 Nagercoil Junction–Punalur Passenger — departure from Nagercoil Junction, scheduled at 6.25 a.m., is delayed.3. Train No. 56306 Thiruvananthapuram North–Nagercoil Junction Passenger — departure from Thiruvananthapuram North, scheduled at 6.30 a.m., will be delayed.4. Train No. 56705 Punalur–Kanniyakumari Passenger — departure from Thiruvananthapuram Central, scheduled at 9.25 a.m., will be delayed.5. Train No. 16122 Thiruvananthapuram Central–Tambaram Express — departure from Thiruvananthapuram Central, scheduled at 10.40 a.m., will be delayed.Long-distance trains that will be delayed1. Train No. 16128 Guruvayur–Chennai Egmore Express will be delayed.2. Train No. 16381 Pune–Kanniyakumari Express will be delayed.Trains fully cancelled:1 Train No. 56306 Thiruvananthapuram North – Nagercoil Junction Passenger scheduled to leave Thiruvananthapuram North at 6.30 a.m.2. Train No. 56309 Nagercoil Junction – Thiruvananthapuram North Passenger scheduled to leave Nagercoil Junction at 6.20 p.m.3 Train No. 56102 Nagercoil Junction – Kollam Junction Passenger is scheduled to leave Nagercoil Junction at 6.25 a.m.4 Train No. 56101 Kollam Junction – Nagercoil Junction Passenger scheduled to leave Kollam Junction at 3.35 p.m.5 Train No. 56305 Nagercoil Junction – Thiruvananthapuram North Passenger. scheduled to leave Nagercoil Junction at 7.55 a.m.6 Train No. 56310 Thiruvananthapuram North – Nagercoil Junction Passenger scheduled to leave Thiruvananthapuram North at 1.25 a.m.Short Termination1 Train No. 22619 Bilaspur – Tirunelveli Express, which commenced its journey from Bilaspur on October 20, will be short-terminated at Neyyattinkara. The train is partially cancelled between Neyyattinkara and Tirunelveli.Rescheduling1 Train No. 16650 Kanniyakumari – Mangaluru Central Parasuram Express, scheduled to leave Kanniyakumari at 3.45 am. On October 22 has been rescheduled to leave at 7a.m.(ie. 3 hours and 15 minutes late) Published - October 22, 2026 09:49 am IST