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.