Bhubaneswar: Trains scheduled to originate from Bhubaneswar and Puri in Odisha, except those notified as cancelled in view of Cyclone Dana, will commence after noon, the East Cost Railway (ECoR) informed on Friday.
“Apart from the cancelled trains (which were notified earlier), other trains will run as per schedule. Down Trains coming from South (Visakhapatnam side) towards Bhubaneswar & Howrah are now running. UP Trains from Kharagpur side towards Visakhapatnam will be received at Bhadrak Station at about 2 pm,” it said.
The first scheduled train is 12245 Howrah-Bangalore Duronto Express, it added.
The ECoR had cancelled 203 trains either originating or passing through Odisha in Brahmapur-Bhadrak Section of Howrah-Chennai Main Line including Branch Lines towards Puri, Paradiep, Dhamra, Keonjhar and Talcher to ensure safety of passengers in the wake of Cyclone Dana, which struck Odisha coast as a severe cyclonic storm with winds speeds of 110 kmph in early hours of Friday.
It further said that the cyclone had affected some railway infrastructure in Jakhapura- Jaroli, Nergundi- Bhadrak, Haridaspur-Paradip and Cuttack-Paradip rail sections and those were restored.
“Railway teams have been deployed in the vulnerable locations for continuous monitoring of the railway assets. Patrolling teams are still working in the sections. Major yards, bridges, minor bridges and vulnerable locations are constantly being watched for any situation due to the heavy rainfall,” it added.
Earlier, Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar restarted its functioning at 8 am. “Normal operations were to start at 9 am but we have preponed it to 8 am. We have followed all post-cyclone procedures. Our teams have inspected operational areas, terminal building and city side and we have resumed operations,” Bhubaneswar Airport Director, Prasanna Pradhan told news agency PTI.