Howrah, Kolkata

The newly-launched Vande Bharat train between Puri and Howrah got stranded near Odisha’s Bhadrak after being damaged by a hailstorm. The train remain stranded for close to four hours as the overhead equipment of the railway line was damaged during a thunderstorm. The train was stranded between Baitarani Road and Manjuri Road stations in Odisha since around 4:30 pm on Sunday. 

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The semi-high speed train was hit by a ‘Norwester’ which was accompanied by a hailstorm that led to the damage of the windscreen of the main engine and the glass windows of some compartments. Multiple coaches at the rear end of the train were on a bridge on the Baitarani River when it stopped, said railway officials. 

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“Vande Bharat from Puri to Howrah was stranded between Baitarani Road and Manjuri Road since 4.30 PM on Sunday due to an Overhead wire damaged by a storm near Bhadrak. A big tree had fallen on track,” the East Coast Railway said in a statement.

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“A diesel relief engine was pressed into service as overhead wires got damaged. The diesel engine brought Vande Bharat train up to Manjari Road, The diesel engine was attached to Vande Bharat train at 8.05 pm,” the statement added.

The train is expected to resume running in some time, said an official of East Coast Railway (ECoR). The overhead wire equipment was repaired and a diesel engine would clear the train from the Manjari Road as the pantograph was entangled with the overhead wire, the official said. 

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The train was ready to leave for Howrah by 8:15 pm. The windscreen of the train has been damaged, said the official.

Ordeal of passengers travelling in the train

When the incident took place, half of the train was on the Baitarani River bridge. On the way back, a little after Jajpur, the train came to a halt with loud bangs on the bridge across the Baitarani River. 

Passengers travelling on the train at that time said that they felt suffocated and all the lights on the train went out. Even the doors were opened and the windows remain fixed. The washrooms, being automatic, become unusable with no water in the washrooms. 

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Many passengers even tweeted to the railway ministry and tried to reach out to a few news channels to inform them of their ordeal. 

As per people travelling in the train, there was no announcement for the first four hours. The first announcement was made at 7:30 pm to inform passengers that the lights will be switched off for a brief while. 

The 17th Vande Bharat Express, Odisha’s first semi-high-speed train connecting the holy city of Puri to West Bengal’s Howrah, was virtually flagged-off on Thursday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who called it a symbol of India’s progress. The Indian Railways plan to run the express in all the states by next month.

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