Smoke detected from Mysore-Udaipur Humsafar Express (Train No. 19668) locomotive near Channapatna station (CPT), Ramnagar district, caused significant disruption to rail services on Thursday. The incident occurred shortly after the train passed Channapatna at 11:20 am. At approximately 11:24 am, the train came to a halt near kilometer marker 52/400 (prior to LRRM station) as smoke was seen billowing from the engine. In response, the loco pilot immediately requested a replacement engine.
A standby locomotive (No. 39417), stationed at CPT, was dispatched at 11:55 am and reached the site by 12:08 pm. It was coupled to the train by 12:16 pm and successfully towed it back to Channapatna at 12:28 pm. The initial delay at the incident site amounted to 64 minutes.
Following technical checks and engine reconfiguration, the Humsafar Express departed CPT again at 2:15 pm, adding a further delay of nearly an hour. However, the disruptions did not end there. The train was again halted near the Bengaluru City (SBC) home signal for 15 minutes and finally reached SBC at 3:35 pm. An additional 31 minutes were required there to switch to a new engine (Loco No. 40455/WDP4D/KJM) for the remainder of the journey to Udaipur.
Train Delays Reported
The ripple effect of the breakdown impacted other train services as well. Train No. 12975 was held at SET station for 56 minutes, and Train No. 12613 faced a 22-minute delay at MAD station.
Railway officials have launched an investigation into the incident. No injuries were reported, but passengers experienced considerable inconvenience due to the cascading delays.