VISAKHAPATNAM: Landslides owing to heavy rain along the train route between Vizag and Kirandul have forced the railway authorities to cancel the services for at least a month. The decision came after a damage was reported at the 80-metre railway bridge near Borra Caves on Friday evening owing to heavy rain, which the officials say is the first such incident in the last many years. Railway sources say that it would take nearly a month for the repairs. The decision came much to the disappointment of the tourists who have already booked their tickets for a joy ride in the glass-domed Vistadome coach attached to the Araku train.
Around 300 tourists are travelling daily in the Vistadome coaches, the first such facility in India. But the recent heavy rain had huge boulders sliding from the adjacent hills onto the Chimidipalli-Borraguhalu section of the Kottavalasa-Kirandul railway line of Waltair Division. The track and the 80-metre railway bridge suffered damage on Friday.
Railway officials said that it would take more than a month for the train services to resume. A bridge engineer from the railway headquarters and an expert from the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) already inspected the bridge and took stock of the damage done.
With the incident, the Vistadome coach train introduced in April will remain off the tracks. Officials have decided to repay the fare for the tickets booked for the coaches. Being the vacation time, this would be a huge loss to the Railways.
The train has become popular with many tourists preferring to travel by it for they can take the glimpse of the scenic beauty, tunnels passing through the hills by the see-through windows of the Vistadome coaches. Landslides are common during heavy rains in the Vizag Agency. If the repairs take longer time, the passengers going to Araku will be sent to the nearby railway station by road. However, the Friday incident created panic among the passengers, especially tourists. “Though travelling by road to Araku is good, train journey has its own charm. But after the incident, tourists would think twice before booking tickets to Araku especially during the rainy season when landslides are common,” said Syamala, a passenger who travelled recently to Araku.
“The assessment of construction of the bridge will take a few more days. Meanwhile, the team visited the spot. We are working on the design of the bridge to decide on the probable measures to be taken to avoid such incidents. We are doing various boulder protection works like netting and retaining walls at vulnerable locations,” Waltair Division DRM Mukul Saran Mathur told Express.