Howrah-Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat Express cancelled today. Here is why

Puri: The Howrah-Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat Express (22895/22896) is cancelled today, May 22 (Monday) after the rake was damaged due to thunderstorm and will require extensive repair, said Indian Railways.

A Norwester accompanied by hailstorm damaged the windscreen of the main engine, as well as, the glass window of some compartments of the newly-launched Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat Express on Sunday afternoon 30 km away from Bhadrak railway station of Odisha, railway officials said.

Station Manager, Bhadrak Purna Chandra Shahu said to ANI, “Front glass and side windows of the driver cabin were damaged due to thunderstorms. There was also a Dulakhapatna-Manjuri Road Station power supply cut. No casualties were reported.”

“All the 250 passengers on the train are safe. A diesel engine will clear the train very soon from the site to Manjuri Road as the pantograph 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 its destination. The train is expected to travel to Howrah after 7.30 pm,” said an official of the East Coast Railways.

Several passengers on the train took to social media to complain about the lack of electricity in the coaches after being stranded.

The 17th Vande Bharat Express, Odisha’s first semi-high-speed train connecting the holy city of Puri to West Bengal’s Howrah, was virtually flagged-off on Thursday by prime minister Narendra Modi who called it a symbol of India’s progress. The Indian Railways plan to run the express in all the states by next month.