Overbridge collapse derails train services in Odisha

The mishap occurred when safety-related modernisation work between Balasore and Nilgiri Road railway stations under Kharagpur division was being undertaken.
Railway tracks blocked after a portion of the overbridge collapses at Shobharampur. (Photo | EPS)
Railway tracks blocked after a portion of the overbridge collapses at Shobharampur. (Photo | EPS)

BALASORE: Train services were affected for over six hours in Kharagpur-Bhadrak railway section of South Eastern Railway (SER) after a portion of an under-construction overbridge collapsed on railway tracks at Shobharampur in the district. However, no casualties were reported in the incident.

The overhead electric wires were damaged after one of the six girders of the overbridge collapsed leading to disruption of train movement. Divisional Railway Manager of SER Manoranjan Pradhan along with Divisional Traffic Inspector AK Khuntia and technical staff rushed to the spot.

“Besides damage of overhead electric wires, no injury or casualty has been reported. Luckily, no train was going on the track when the mishap occurred,” Pradhan said.

A probe has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the incident.

A railway spokesperson said though trains were controlled as per prior information for lifting of girders and construction of the road overbridge, one of the girders fell down while it was being lifted.

The mishap occurred when safety-related modernisation work between Balasore and Nilgiri Road railway stations under Kharagpur division was being undertaken.

Hundreds of passengers had a harrowing time after they were stranded at Balasore and Bhubaneswar railway stations due to the mishap. At least 15 trains were rescheduled and diverted in both Up and Down lines.

While Bhadrak-Kharagpur MEMU was cancelled, Bhubaneswar-Anand Vihar Terminal Express, Puri-Howrah Dhauli Express and Puri-Sealdah Special were rescheduled.

Similarly, Howrah-Puri Dhauli Express short-terminated at Basta station and returned as a special train towards Howrah. Khargapur-Bhadrak MEMU was short-terminated at Haldipada and returned as a passenger special towards Kharagpur.

Railway authorities controlled Chennai-Howrah Coromandal Express, Secunderabad-Howrah Falaknuma Express, Hyderabad-Howrah East Coast Express, Puri-Howrah Shatabdi Express along with some long distance trains.

Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, Yeshvantpur-Kamakhya Express via Jakhpura-Jaroli-Adra, Puri-Anand Vihar Terminal Neelachal Express via Jakhpura-Jaroli-Tata and Howrah-Yeshvantpur Duronto Express and Agartala-Bangalore Cant Express via Kharagpur-Tata-Jaroli-Jakhpura were diverted.

Meanwhile, Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express scheduled to leave Bhubaneswar at 9.30 am on Monday has been rescheduled to 4.30 pm due to late arrival of the incoming train.

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