After 19 hours of restoration work, train services resume

Visakhapatnam: Train services were restored in a record time. The restoration work that commenced on war-footing from Sunday night was completed by Monday evening.

There was an overshoot of trains of Visakhapatnam-Palasa (08532) passenger with Visakhapatnam-Rayagada (08504) where three coaches were derailed in which 13 persons lost their lives and over 50 injured. Rescue operations commenced almost immediately.

Local administration and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams were mobilised to provide assistance in the rescue and restoration exercise. Ambulances, accident relief trains and medical teams led by senior doctors were also dispatched to the scene.

The coordinated efforts of concerned teams and agencies under the guidance of senior officials, the Collector, NDRF, SDRF, and others, contributed to the swift completion of restoration works. They also involved removal of damaged coaches and isolating tankers in adjacent tracks.

The General Manager of the East Coast Railway (ECoR) Manoj Sharma along with senior officials, arrived at the accident site to review and support the restoration exercise. Assistance and support were also provided by the ECoR headquarters, Railway Board, and the state government. More than 1,000 workers, staff, supervisors from various departments with usage of heavy duty 140-tonne cranes and more than 10 excavators were on mission mode for restoration of the train services in the mainline.

After 19 hours of the exercise that went on at a brisk pace, the track was restored within a short span, allowing the resumption of train services. The first train passed on the down line, goods train at noon and the first train on the up line was the Bhubaneswar-KSR Bengaluru Prashanti express (18463).

Due to the collision of trains, a significant number of train services were affected. Following which, 47 trains were cancelled, 24 trains diverted, eight trains were short-terminated, and 8 rescheduled. These changes in train schedules and services impacted the Waltair Division.

Prompt response and coordinated efforts of the disaster management will minimise casualties and restore rail services at the earliest.