East Coast Railway (ECoR) and South Eastern Railway (SER) have geared up its machinery to meet the challenges posed by cyclone Amphan. The railway zones have planned for early restoration of train traffic and railway track, if affected by the cyclonic storm. While diesel locomotives have been kept in position for utilisation during failure of electricity, red alert has been issued for the areas in coastal districts. All the railway stations between Bhubaneswar and Howrah have been put on alert.
Steps have been taken for positioning of special teams for early restoration of tracks, signalling system and electrification besides the safety of train operations, if power supply is snapped. Accordingly, the catch water drains and side drains have been cleared of silt, vegetation and other obstructions to ensure free flow of rain water.
Patrolmen and watchmen along with mobile patrolmen have been deployed in vulnerable sections. The ECoR has set up a round the clock disaster management cell at its headquarters and divisional headquarters at Visakhapatnam, Khurda Road and Sambalpur.
ECoR General Manager Vidya Bhusan has directed the officials concerned to be on full alert for any flood-like situation near railway track and to ensure safety of trains and smooth operations. ECoR has also diverted Bhubaneswar-New Delhi-Bhubaneswar Special AC train via Angul-Jharsuguda-Rourkela-Tata route bypassing Bhubaneswar-Hijli (Kharagpur) route for four day.