Cyclone Vayu: Western Railway cancels 70 trains, short terminates 28 others

Also considering the alertness for Vayu Cyclone over Gujarat, the Western Railway has decided to run relief special trains.

New Delhi: Western Railway on Wednesday night announced cancellation of 70 trains and will short terminate 28 others due to Cyclone Vayu. According to the IMD, Vayu has intensified into a severe cyclonic storm and it is nearing the Gujarat coast. "Considering the alertness for Cyclone Vayu over Gujarat, the Western Railway has decided to fully cancel operation of 70 mainline trains, while 28 other mainline trains will be short terminated with partial cancellation as a precautionary measure in the cyclone prone areas. "All WR passenger and mail trains to Veraval, Okha, Porbandar, Bhavnagar, Bhuj and Gandhidham stations will be short-terminated or cancelled from 6 pm on Wednesday till Friday morning", WR chief spokesperson Ravinder Bhakar was quoted by PTI. Also considering the alertness for Vayu Cyclone over Gujarat, the Western Railway has decided to run relief special trains. Three special evacuation trains are scheduled to run in Rajkot Division, Bhavnagar division and Veraval today to evacuate passengers of coastal areas affected by the cyclone. Earlier in the evening, as IMD  officials said that Cyclone Vayu has turned "very severe", the railways had announced the cancellation of as many as 15 trains and had decided to short terminate 16 others. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Tuesday, Vayu has intensified into a severe cyclonic storm and it is nearing the Gujarat coast. "Considering the alertness for Cyclone Vayu over Gujarat, the Western Railway has decided to fully cancel operation of 15 mainline trains, while 16 other mainline trains will be short terminated with partial cancellation as a precautionary measure in the cyclone prone areas,” it said.

PLEASE NOTE! 40 TRAINS FULLY CANCELLED & 28 TRAINS WILL BE SHORT –TERMINATED WITH PARTIAL CANCELLATION ON MAINLINE IN VIEW OF #VayuCyclone. pic.twitter.com/MpJLDjOIyA

— Western Railway (@WesternRly) June 12, 2019

The state government has launched a massive evacuation exercise to shift about three lakh people from low-lying areas of Saurashtra and Kutch regions. The cyclone is expected to hit the Gujarat coast on Thursday morning, but several parts along the Maharashtra and Goa coast have been witnessing strong winds and rains. An alert has been sounded in 10 districts of Gujarat as Cyclone Vayu has turned "very severe" and its impact is expected to remain strong for 24 hours even after its landfall on Thursday, PTI quoted officials as saying. As many as 52 teams of the National Disaster Management Relief Force (NDRF), comprising around 45 rescuers each, have been moved to the state, while 10 columns of the Indian Army have been kept on stand-by. Warships and aircraft of the Indian Navy have been kept standby as well.