Indian Railways has announced that Howrah-Puri Vande Bharat services will remain canceled today, 22nd May 2023. The Indian transporter took the step after the train was damaged by hailstorm on Sunday. After leaving the Bhadrak railway station in Odisha, the semi-high speed on this route caused damage on many fronts. especially. The windscreen of the main engine as well as the window panes of the compartment were damaged in the incident while the train was on its way from Puri to Howrah.
Following the incident, the South Eastern Railway (SER) branch of the Indian Railways said in a statement, “The train will remain canceled on May 21, 2023 in the Cuttack-Bhadrak section of the east coast due to repair of damages caused by the thunderstorm. Railways (ECoR).Furthermore, the train got delayed and was able to reach its destination 5 hours behind schedule.
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The derailment with 22896 Vande Bharat Express took place between Dulkhapatna and Manghi Road station after the overhead wire of the train got damaged due to thunderstorm. Apart from this, the branches of fallen trees got entangled with the pantograph of the train.
The incident took place near Jajpur Keonjhar Road station between Baitarani Road and Manjhi Road stations at around 16:45. More than three hours passed while the train remained stuck there. The railways eventually forced diesel locomotives into use. Thanks to the diesel engine, the semi-high-speed train came to Manggi Road. The train normally operates via Mandvi Road.
Many passengers went online and shared updates on social media. When they got stuck in the train, the passengers complained about the lack of electricity.
The Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat train, which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, is the first semi-high-speed train to run in Odisha. Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik participated in the ceremony through video conference.