Landslide hits rail traffic on Rayagada-Koraput route

A Landslide occurred between Sikarpai and Keutagada railway stations in Rayagada district, disrupting train movement on Rayagada-Koraput route under East Coast Railways (ECoR) on Wednesday evening.
Stones on the railway track I Express
Stones on the railway track I Express

RAYAGADA/KORAPUT: A Landslide occurred between Sikarpai and Keutagada railway stations in Rayagada district, disrupting train movement on Rayagada-Koraput route under East Coast Railways (ECoR) on Wednesday evening.

According to reports, loose mud and stones slid down the hill and fell on the railway track near the 149-km pillar post at Sikarpai blocking movement of Howrah-Jagdalpur Samaleswari Express train on the route. The train engine hit the stones and got damaged. Fortunately, passengers escaped unhurt as the volume of stones on the tracks was less. The train was delayed by four hours till the engine was replaced. Sources said the railway officials arranged for a substitute engine to resume the train movement.
A technical team of railway officials reached the spot and removed the stones and mud from the track. Sources said heavy rain for the last few days was the reason behind the landslide. Normalcy was restored and train services resumed after four hours.

The Jagdalpur-Bhubaneswar Hirakhand Express on the opposite route was running late following the landslide. Apparently, the ECoR has now has passed an order that the speed limit of the trains on the Rayagada-Koraput route will not exceed 30 km per hour .Sources said passenger trains started plying in 1999 on the Rayagada-Koraput route and ECoR authorities have since then pumped crores of rupees to  prevent landslides on the railway route. However, landslides have become a regular affair on the route due to improper planning and implementation of preventive measures by ECoR officials concerned. As many as 14 landslides have occurred on the route in the last 18 years, an official said.The four-hour-long journey between Rayagada and Koraput and vice-versa is considered dangerous during rainy season.

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