Incessant rain lashes Koch; trains affected

KOCHI: Five trains were delayed at the South Railway Station owing to heavy and continuous rains on Sunday. The trains that were delayed were Shoranur Express, Kannur Intercity Express, Kottayam Fast Passenger, Ernakulam-Nizamuddin Mangala Express and Ernakulam- Bangalore Intercity. The delay was caused owing to the disruption in the signal system near the south overbridge, causing the railway employees to control the signals and the tracks manually. Railway Ernakulam area manager said, “Since the tracks are at a lower level compared to the surrounding areas, water entering the railway tracks and disrupting the railway signal system is a common problem. We have been trying to raise the level of the railway tracks and it has been successful in some places. But unless a permanent measure is taken the waterlogging menace cannot be solved.”The Shoranur Express and Kannur Intercity Express were delayed by four hours whereas the  Mangala Express was delayed by two hours in the morning. The other trains were delayed for an hour.Meanwhile, the railway employees headquarters was submerged in the heavy floods. Most of the water logged here had flowed from the open sewage causing health hazard to the employees. Also,the heavy rains had flowed into the ground floor of the employee quarters, forcing many to shift to top floors preventing them from doing their daily chores.An employee at the Traffic Operating Depot, S Prasad said: “Heavy rain have been affecting the quarters since I arrived here four years ago.” The railway management distributed food packages to all the inmates of the railway quarters.“The main reason why waterlogging is a persistent problem in this area is the blockage in the sewage canals. The cleaning of the canals, along with the closure of the sewage pipes by the corporation could prevent waterlogging to a certain extent.” Mayor Tony Chammany said measures would be taken to solve the problem.