Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat express forced to stop after overhead power line snaps

The newly introduced Vande Bharat Express between Puri and Howrah hit a roadblock near Baitarani Road station in Jajpur on Sunday after it was forced to halt following power outages due to rain in the north.

According to reports, the semi-high speed train from Puri to Howrah was detained between Baitarani Road and Manjuri Road stations from 4.30 pm.

An East-Coast Railway report said, "The train was forced to stop due to damaged catenary caused by storm near Bhadrak. The train will be delayed for some time as a large tree has fallen on the track. The train is expected to be ready to start again by 7.30 pm ."

Talking to the news, Biswajeet Sahu, Chief Public Relation Officer (CPRO) of East Coast Railway said, "The overhead power line was damaged after a tree was uprooted due to the storm. When the train crossed this section, it was also partially damaged. Our engineers have already they have arrived at the scene and are trying to either repair the damaged section or push the train to continue moving forward.”

"Our team is on the spot taking care of the passengers who are stuck in the train. The repairs will be completed soon and we expect train services to resume within the next hour," Sahu said.