Indian Railways has announced that the services of the Howrah-Puri Vande Bharat will remain cancelled today, 22 May 2023. The Indian transporter took the step after a hailstorm damaged the train on Sunday. The semi-high speed on this route sustained damages on multiple fronts after it departed from Bhadrak Railway station in Odisha. Specifically. the windscreen of the main engine as well as the window glass of the compartments, were damaged in the incident while the train was on its way from Puri to Howrah.
Following the incident, the South Eastern Railway (SER) arm of the Indian Railways said in a statement, “The train will remain cancelled due to repairs of damages caused by a thunderstorm on May 21, 2023, in Cuttack-Bhadrak section of East Coast Railway (ECoR).” Furthermore, the train got delayed and was able to arrive at its destination 5 hours late than the scheduled time.
The incident with 22896 Vande Bharat Express occurred between Dulakhapatna and Manjuri Road Station after the thunderstorm damaged the overhead wire of the train. Furthermore, the branches of fallen trees got entangled with the train’s pantograph.
The incident happened close to the Jajpur Keonjhar Road station at about 16:45 between the stations on Baitarani Road and Manjuri Road. More than three hours passed while the train was stuck there. The railways eventually forced diesel engines into use. The semi-high-speed train arrived at Manjuri Road thanks to the diesel engine. The train normally operated from Manjuri Rd.
Many passengers shared the update on social media by going online. While they were stuck in the train, the passengers griped about the lack of electricity.
The Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat train, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicked off on Thursday, is the first semi-high-speed train operating in Odisha. Ashwini Vaishnaw, the minister of railways for the Union, and Naveen Patnaik, the chief minister of Odisha, attended the ceremony through video conference.
