Railway officials said that the number is likely to increase as other zones may cancel trains to Odisha. The East Coast Railway (ECoR) has decided to run two special trains from Puri to Shalimar on Thursday for tourists in view of the landfall of cyclonic storm Fani on the Odisha coast.
The train is scheduled to leave Puri at 12 noon on Thursday. It will make stoppages at Khurda Road, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Jajpur, Keonjhar Road, Bhadrak, Balasore and Kharagpur, said an ECoR official.
Equipped with General, Sleeper, 3A and 2A coaches, the special train will have both reserved and unreserved classes. It will reach Bhubaneswar around 1.30 p.m.
A special help desk at Puri railway station has also been set up to guide passengers.
It may be mentioned here that at least 81 trains have been cancelled by ECoR in the state in view of the storm. The passengers have been advised to plan their travel accordingly.
Train services between Bhadrak and Andhra Pradesh's Vizianagaram have been suspended starting Thursday and inward trains towards Bhubaneswar and Puri will be restricted from Thursday evening.
Railway officials said that train services will be cancelled keeping in mind safety and security of passengers. “Train services between Bhadrak and Vizianagaram will be stopped from Thursday evening and we request passengers to plan their journey accordingly. Trains coming towards Bhubaneswar and Puri will be restricted from Thursday while all trains from Puri and Bhubaneswar have been cancelled on Friday,” said a Railway official.
Railway officials said that concerned stations have been asked to remain alert and start restoration work immediately after the cyclone. Officials in the ECoR said that a decision to resume the train services will be taken only after reviewing the feasibility and safety of train operations.
The whole section between Bhadrak-Bhubaneswar-Puri-Visakhapatnam will be cleared so that there will be no train in the section during extreme situation, the ECoR advisory mentioned.
In such situation, all trains going from South Eastern Railway towards Bhubaneswar, Puri, Visakhapatnam and other destinations to southern parts of India may be cancelled, diverted, regulated or re-scheduled in these crucial days.
The ECoR has advised all the rail passengers to plan their journey accordingly.
As precautionary measures, special patrolling has been arranged by the railway and break down vans and relief trains are kept alert for the areas which are likely to be affected. This apart, close co-ordination is being maintained with the local authority and disaster management team.