Cyclone Phailin cripples rail traffic in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: With uprooted high tension towers and signals, damaged platforms and tracks blocked by trees due to high-velocity winds of Cyclone Phailin in Odisha, East Coast Railways today said no trains were moving in Bhadrak-Khurda Road-Palasa-Vizianagaram sections. While the up line signal of Ichhapuram Station was uprooted, the overbridge and platform shelter at Brahmapur, Ganjam, Somepeta, Balugaon, Mancheswar and Khurda Road stations were either blown away or damaged, ECor Railway said in a press release.[caption id=“attachment_1169111” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  People watch high tide waves as they stand at the Bay of Bengal coast in Vishakhapatnam on Saturday. PTI [/caption] With the wind speed of the cyclone gradually reducing, engineering, traction distribution and signalling and telecommunication staff have been kept in readiness to visit the affected spots by tower wagon and diesel light engines. The overhead equipment at Khurda Road-Palasa was not functioning and an attempt to charge it had failed, the release said. The overhead equipment at Cuttack-Paradeep and Barang-Khurda Road sections were also not functioning and tower wagons from Bhadrak and Jajpur-Keonjhar Road had already moved out to the sections, the release said. “Details of sectional damages can be assessed only after the relief team reports back,” it said. High tension towers were uprooted at many locations in Khurda Road–Brahmapur section. A large number of uprooted trees were lying on the track and overhead equipment, the release said. The running of major trains between Kolkata and Chennai passing through Odisha would be affected due to these developments, ECoR sources said. PTI