Train services on Howrah-Chennai route have been badly hit by the incessant rains in the past couple of days across large parts of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh and the consequent flooding of the railway tracks.

“The water is flowing on railway tracks at several places south of Khurda,” according to J.P. Misra, Chief Public Relations Officer, East Coast Railway.

“Several important trains have been cancelled, several others diverted through other routes and at least six trains with passengers on board have been detained at several places on the route,’’ he said.

East Coast Railway, as Misra said, is sending empty rakes to bring the passengers stuck on the route. “We’re also arranging for buses, for the first time, to bring them back,’’ he said.

An estimated 3,000 passengers on board half-a-dozen trains are stuck at various points on the route.

S. Majumdar, CPRO, South Eastern Railway, said that the situation was pretty bad for maintaining normal services. It would be several days before the services could become normal, he said.

Howrah-Chennai Mail, Howrah-Mysore Mail, Bhubaneswar-Rameswaram Mail, Bhubaneswar-Visakhaptnam Intercity Express, among others, have been cancelled. At least 15 trains have been diverted via three routes, namely, Kharagpur-Jharsuguda-Nagpur, Angul-Sambalpur-Titlagarh-Vizianagram and Jhasuguda-Sambalpur.

“We’ve not yet cancelled the prestigious Howrah-Chennai Coromandel Express, which has been diverted through other route but we’re not sure what will happen in the next few days,” Majumdar added.

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