Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw reviews cyclone preparedness for East Coast and South Eastern Railway

BHUBANESWAR: Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday reviewed preparedness of East Coast Railway (ECoR) and South Eastern Railway (SER) zones with Cyclone Dana likely to hit the Odisha coast on Thursday night.

Chairing the high-level meeting through videoconferencing from New Delhi, Vaishnaw asked officials to ensure maximum preparedness with minimal disruption. He also advised that care must be taken to ensure minimum inconvenience to passengers.

General managers of ECoR and SER presented all details regarding preparedness. A round-the-clock dedicated war room will be set up at zonal headquarters in Bhubaneswar and Garden Reach (Kolkata) and divisional offices to manage the situation and ensure early restoration of services and infrastructure. Emergency control rooms will have satellite phones for emergency contact with officers.

Specialised teams have been positioned for swift restoration of tracks, signalling systems and electrification in places like Soro, Jaleswar and other important stations. Diesel locomotives are also on standby to ensure train services continue if power outage occurs, said official sources.

As per the review meeting, more than 600 staff were deployed at all strategic locations, including Soro, Tapang, Palasa, Hindol Road and Haridaspur, with adequate restoration materials. Relief vans, 49 heavy machines, seven trolleys and other equipment were also kept on standby to respond to any emergency. Rakes and tower wagons have been arranged for relief work.

Stations along the Bhubaneswar-Visakhapatnam corridor are being closely monitored due to the red alert issued for coastal areas.

Adjoining divisions of Chakradharpur and Adra along with Kharagpur are also kept on high alert. A close watch is being maintained over railway bridges, tracks, yards and signalling systems to prevent damage from heavy rain and flooding, the sources said.

De-watering pumps will be placed at Tamluk, Panskura and Balasore stations for draining out floodwater. Track patrolling will continue till Saturday. Trains will be controlled and stopped depending upon the wind speed.

Ballasts placed on railway track near Thokkottu

Suspected vandals placed track ballasts on a railway track near Thokkottu, causing loud noises and vibrations on Saturday night as trains passed. Southern Railway officials enhanced night patrols and raised local awareness to prevent future incidents. MLA D Vedavyas Kamath urged serious investigation, linking it to recent threats by terrorist groups to derail trains in India.

Official inspects doubling of railway tracks

Railway Safety Commissioner Pranjeev Saxena inspected the newly doubled and electrified 2.224 km rail section between Prayagraj Junction and Prayagraj Rambagh. This thorough examination included load tests, bridge formations, and safety checks on track doubling standards, ensuring passenger safety measures like point crossings and platform clearance are met.

Two found dead on railway track

Two individuals, a 50-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman from Kalburgi, Karnataka, were found dead on the railway track near Pune station early Tuesday morning. Govt Railway Police identified it as a joint suicide. They resided in Kuruduwadi, and their bodies were sent to Sassoon hospital for post-mortem.