Continued train cancellations and disruptions at Tatanagar following the Balasore accident; Utkal Express and trains to South India severely affected.
JAMSHEDPUR – Train schedules remain in disarray on the sixth day following the catastrophic Balasore accident.
Nine trains operating on various routes from Odisha were canceled, causing considerable disruption.
The Utkal Express, operating between Puri and Rishikesh, bypassed Tatanagar, adding to the ongoing chaos.
Hundreds of passengers at Tatanagar were left stranded as cancellations of trains to Hyderabad, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Yeshwanthpur, and Mangalore continued. Scores of passengers intending to travel to Kharagpur also found themselves stranded as they customarily catch trains heading towards various Southern Indian stations starting from Howrah, Santragachi, and Shalimar.
Insiders report that the current wave of cancellations is due to a scarcity of coaches.
The train services were first disrupted after a goods train, the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express, and the Yesvantpur-Howrah Express were involved in an accident near Balasore last Friday.
This event led to the derailment of over 1,200 train schedules over 78 hours, necessitating extensive repair work to the damaged line in Bahanaga and the operational system.
Despite these challenges, railway officials are making efforts to restore normal train operations as soon as possible.
As of Thursday evening, no further cancellations or diversions were announced from the South East Zone to Odisha stations, offering a glimmer of hope that train services could resume by Friday afternoon.
