Train services disrupted due to landslide at Yedakumeri

Mangaluru/Subrahmanya: Due to a severe landslide between Yedakumeri and Kadagaralli, train services remain disrupted, and restoration work is still ongoing. It will be several days before train services can resume.

Heavy soil erosion under the railway track has compromised its stability. Despite round-the-clock efforts by railway staff to repair the tracks, continuous heavy rain has hampered the restoration work. Several trains were rerouted or canceled on Saturday due to a significant landslide on Friday evening.

The Murudeshwar-Bengaluru and Karwar-Bengaluru trains, which had to detour via Shoranur to Bengaluru on Friday, and the Bengaluru-Kannur and Bengaluru-Murudeshwar trains arriving from Bengaluru, reached their destinations several hours late.

Service Disruptions for Two More Days

The 16585 SMVT Benglauru-Murudeshwar train will be canceled on July 27 and 28. The 16586 Murudeshwar-SMVT train will be canceled on July 28 and 29. The 06567 SMVT Bengaluru-Karwar train is canceled on July 28. The 06568 Karwar-SMVT train on July 28 and the 16595 KSR Bengaluru-Karwar train on July 27 and 28 are also canceled.

The 16596 Karwar-KSR Bengaluru train is entirely canceled on July 27 and 28, and the 16585 SMVT-Murudeshwar train service is canceled on July 27.

At Least Five Days Needed?

Railway officials have reported that the landslide was caused by the soil on the hillside becoming soft due to heavy rain. Soil has slid about 50-60 meters to the edge of the railway track, posing a significant threat to the track’s stability.

Heavy rainwater from the hillside has also added to the challenges of the restoration efforts. The area requires around 20 wagons of large rocks. The plan is to use gabion mesh fences to stabilize the hillside, but the softened soil makes it difficult to install these meshes. The intense rain has washed away the materials already laid, the officials said.

According to the latest information, the operation is complex, and even with continuous work, it might take five days to restore the railway track to its normal condition. There is no road access to this area, so all repair materials must be transported by rail.

Due to the current risk, wagons carrying rocks and other materials are being cautiously transported with two engines at both the front and the back. However, even after transporting the materials, bringing them to the landslide-affected area is challenging because of the instability of the track, officials explained.