A passenger train derailed in the southern Indian state of Kerala early Sunday, but no casualties have been reported, a senior railway official said.

The mishap took place between Aluva and Karukutty stations in the state's Ernakulam district at around 3 a.m. local time (2130 GMT Saturday), he said.

The Thiruvananthapuram-Mangalore Express was on its way to the neighboring state of Karnataka from Kerala's capital when 12 of its coaches went off the tracks, the official said.

Local TV channels showed footage of the train coaches and reported that stranded passengers were ferried by buses to nearby places.

"Train services in the region were disrupted for over six hours, following the incident. Normalcy is slowing return there," the official said, adding a probe has been ordered into the mishap.

Indian Railways, which carry millions of passengers, is one of the largest train networks in the world, crisscrossing the country from north to south.

But the state-run railways has a patchy safety record -- there has been little investment in upgrading decaying tracks and signals. It also lags behind on anti-collision technologies.

Moreover, decades of neglect, low investment and subsidised fares have also left the network in a shambles though the government is trying to revive the ailing railway sector.

Source : XINHUA