JAJPUR/BHUBANESWAR: The Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat Express was stranded near Baitarani Road station in the Jajpur district for nearly four hours as overhead power wires were damaged in Nor’wester on Sunday afternoon.
The front side glass of the loco-pilot was also damaged as the branches of a big tree that got uprooted in the high-speed wind hit the train. The tree fell on the track close to the over-bridge near Baitarani Road station. Passengers travelling in the super-fast train are, however, safe.
Sources said the semi-high speed Howrah-bound train from Puri remained stranded between Baitarani Road and Manjuri Road stations from 4.30 pm to 8.17 pm after the overhead power cables snapped in the thunderstorm.
Being informed, railway engineers reached the spot and started repair work to resume the train service. A relief diesel engine was also rushed to the spot to take the train up to Manjuri Road from where the train ran normally.
An East Coast Railway (ECoR) official said the train was forced to stop due to damaged overhead wires caused by the storm. The pantograph of the train was broken as tree branches fell in front of the train due to wind and lightning. The train resumed its service at about 9.35 pm without diesel loco, he said.
Though the repair work of the up-line has been completed, engineers were busy repairing the down-line power cable till the last report came in. Meanwhile, Howrah-Puri Vande Bharat Express has been cancelled on Monday due to the late running of the connecting Vande Bharat rake. This has been done to adjust timing, said ECoR sources.