KASARAGOD: A railway accident was averted when a keyman alerted the authorities upon noticing a breach on the railway track at Olavara rail level crossing at Thrikkarippur.

On finding the breach on the north-bound track around 8 a.m., the keyman alerted the nearby Payyannur railway station from where the Mangaluru-bound Malabar Express from Thiruvananthapuram had departed.

The Payyannur station master quickly switched off the signal forcing the train, already delayed for 30 minutes, to halt mid-way.

After being held up for nearly 30 minutes, the train left for its destination after the breach was temporarily rectified. A similar track breach was noticed at Manikoth near Kanhangad on March 19.

A passerby had then waved a shawl to alert the locopilot of the Tirunelveli-bound train from Hapa, causing its stoppage.

The incident comes at a time when the Southern Railway is replacing worn out tracks on the Shoranur-Mangaluru rail stretch leading to frequent train delays for hours.