Panic as dust engulfs coaches of Guruvayur Express

MADURAI: Guruvayur Express running between Chennai Egmore and Guruvayur was suddenly stopped on a river bridge near Villupuram railway junction on Tuesday at about 11.10am after passengers pulled the chain fearing fire. Railway officials said they had mistaken white dust, which crept into a few coaches, for smoke.
The train, which left Chennai Egmore at 7.40am, had reached Villupuram station by 11am.After 10 minutes of halt, it was proceeding southward when the incident happened. When it approached the Kedilam Bridge, passengers in coaches D1, D2, D3 and D4 saw white fume-like matter inside the coaches. It engulfed the coaches within a few seconds, said K Palani, a passenger going to Dindigul.
"Several passengers pulled the chains and took their luggage to escape. We were scared as the train came to halt on the river bridge," said another passenger S Suguna, who is from Chengalpattu. "We would have get down if the train had not stopped on the bridge," said Shaira Begum of Dindigul.
"There was burning smell too and it vanished soon. We were told by the railway staff it was only white dust formed by the crushing of blue metals filling up gaps between railway lines. After the stones were crushed by the train's wheels, dust arose from them and entered the bogies," said M Jayapal, a passenger from Chennai.
Due to unexpected smoke an old lady experienced breathing difficulty. But she managed to recover, said Jayapal.
Railway police said work on railway track is in progress before the Kedilam Bridge. Dust arose from the material lying on track as the train crossed the area fast. "We received a message that the train was stopped due to technical problem. Otherwise, we didn't receive any adverse report. No untoward incident occurred," said railway inspector (Vrithachalam) P Murugan.
Passengers said it is the railway's duty to take precautionary measures. They suggested pouring water on gravel to avoid similar incidents.
After a 10-minute halt over the bruidge, the train commenced journey.