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Bhubaneswar, Oct 28 (IANS) Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav has directed all officials of the East Coast Railway (ECOR) and South-Central Railway (SCR) zones to be on high alert and take proactive steps for speedy restoration of train services following the impact of severe cyclonic storm ‘Montha’, which crossed the Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam near Kakinada on Tuesday. are supposed to.
Union Minister Vaishnav issued the instructions during a review meeting held on virtual mode with senior officials of East Coast Railway (ECOR) and South-Central Railway (SCR) on preparedness for Cyclone ‘Montha’.
According to an official statement, the meeting was held through video conferencing to assess the preparedness of the railway network in view of the impending cyclonic storm on the east coast.
The Railway Minister reviewed the measures being taken for passenger safety, train regulation, restoration planning and coordination with local administration and disaster management agencies.
Parameshwar Funkwal, General Manager, East Coast Railway, participated in the review along with key Heads of Departments and Divisional Railway Managers and informed the Hon’ble Minister about the precautionary measures already initiated in vulnerable sections, especially in Waltair and Khurda Road Divisions.
The Railway Minister stressed the importance of ensuring passenger safety, maintaining uninterrupted communication channels and deploying disaster response teams in advance.
In view of the impending cyclone ‘Montha’ and to ensure the safety of passengers and train operations, Railways has so far canceled 42 trains, while two trains have been diverted.
Similarly, in view of the impending severe cyclonic storm, five trains have been short-terminated/short-originated and eight trains have been rescheduled.
ECoR has also advised passengers to check the latest status of trains before starting their journey and avoid unnecessary travel during the cyclone period. Khurda Road division has opened helpdesks at Palasa, Khurda Road and Bhubaneswar, while Waltair division has set up helpdesks at Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam Road, Duvvada and Rayagada from October 27.
–IANS
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