Odisha: Train movement along derailment route yet to be restored

BHUBANESWAR: The East Coast Railway (ECoR) has intensified track restoration work following derailment of a wheat-laden goods train between Angul and Talcher Road stations on Tuesday. It may complete the restoration work by Thursday morning.
The train was derailed near Angul around 2.35 am on Tuesday as flash floods, triggered by torrential rain, weakened the base of the railway tracks near a bridge over a rivulet.The ECoR has intensified the restoration work where nine wagons of the train were capsized. Besides, one wagon was derailed.
East Coast Railway chief public relations officer Kaushalendra Kishore Khadanga said the restoration work was underway on a war-footing. “We have used various equipment along with a road crane to clear the track. As the engine was in a precarious condition, the restoration team took more time to bring the engine from the track,” he added.
All damaged 10 wagons were cleared from the track by 6.30 pm on Wednesday. As the affected rail section is a single line, several trains were cancelled and diverted on Tuesday and Wednesday. Four trains- Durg-Puri special, Puri-Durg special, Puri-Hatia special and Hatia-Puri special were cancelled on Wednesday. Three trains were diverted on a different route.
ECoR has also decided to cancel six trains for Thursday. These were- Rourkela-Bhubaneswar Inter City Special, Bhubaneswar-Rourkela Inter City Special, Bhubaneswar-Balangir Inter City Special, Balangir-Bhubaneswar Inter City Special, Rourkela-Puri Special and Puri-Rourkela Special. Puri-Indore Special was rescheduled due to this restoration work.
“All the ten affected wagons of the derailed train have been grounded. Efforts are on to restore the train engine taking all safety precautions,” said the ECoR communication.
In a related development, train services in the Kharagpur-Bhubaneswar section were affected partially on Wednesday due to waterlogging on the railway track in the Hijli station area along with some parts of the Kharagpur railway division under the South Eastern Railway. As a result, three trains were controlled midway.