BHUBANESWAR: Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat Express (22896) was stranded between Baitarani Road and Manjuri Road stations, around 115 km from here, in Odisha’s Jajpur district since 4.30pm on Sunday. The incident happened after the overhead power line got damaged due to a storm near Bhadrak.
This train was flagged off by prime minister Narendra Modi on May 18 from Puri. It started its regular run from Saturday. On Sunday, the train departed at 1.54pm from Puri and passed Baitarani Road station at 4.30pm. After passing this station, an uprooted tree fell on the overhead equipment (OHE).
The train draws power from OHE. Front portion of the train was damaged by the uprooted tree. “Train will be delayed for some time as a big tree has fallen on the track. Train is expected to be ready to run again by 7.30pm,” said official sources of the East Coast Railway (ECoR).
The ECoR in a statement said, “A diesel engine will clear the train very soon from the site to Manjuri Road as the pantograph (the device on the train that collects power from electric lines) is entangled with the overhead wire. After the train is cleared up to Manjuri Road, it will again work with its normal engine up to destination.”
Half of the train was on the Baitarani river bridge. ECoR officials were rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation. They will rectify the issues within an hour, said the official sources.
A social media user tweeted, “Vande Bharat is stranded near Bhadrak. There is no electricity, pitch dark inside the coach and engine glass pane has been damaged. Half of the train is on a bridge. Please help.”
Another twitter user sought help from the railways to rectify the problems of the train immediately. “The Vande Bharat train was struck by lightning near Manjuri Road station. We are stationed here, kindly assist,” said a passenger.
