Railways taking proactive measures to Minimize Cyclone Impact: Relief Operations, Passenger Safety, and Infrastructure Restoration in Focus

9 war rooms being established across 2 states to promptly restore rail services amid red alert along east coastAdequate arrangements including food and water in place at key stations to mitigate the impact of high wind force ‘Ensure maximum preparedness with minimal disruption’: Sh. Ashwini Vaishnaw, while reviewing preparedness to deal with ‘Dana’ cyclone

In view of the severe cyclone ‘Dana’ likely to hit the coasts of Odisha & West Bengal, a high level meeting was conducted in the Ministry of Railways in which preparedness by the concerned Zonal Railways i.e East Coast Railway and South Eastern Railway was reviewed. The High level meeting was chaired by Union Minister for Railways Sh. Ashwini Vaishnaw and Chairman & CEO, Railway Board, all Board Members, General Managers of East Coast Railway and South Eastern Railway, Divisional Railway Managers of Kharagpur, Chakradharpur, Adra and Khurda Road had participated. The Minister for Railways instructed to ensure maximum preparedness with minimal disruption. He also advised that care must be taken to ensure minimum inconvenience to passengers.

In the meeting, the General Managers of East Coast Railway & South Eastern Railway provided the details regarding preparedness by Railways, which are as under:

• 9 Round-the-clock Dedicated War rooms shall be established at State Headquarters i.e Bhubaneswar & Garden Reach (Kolkata), Divisional offices of Khurda Road, Visakhapatnam, Sambalpur, Chakradharpur, Adra, Ranchi, Kharagpur and Balasore. These War Room shall be manned by  the officers of Engineering, S&T, Operating, Commercial & RPF so as to take any prompt decision on account of cyclone and will ensure early restoration of services and infrastructure. War Room/Emergency Control Rooms are operational with 20 satellite phones for uninterrupted communication with power back up. Railway is also maintaining constant communication with the India Meteorological Department to receive real-time updates and mobilize resources as necessary
• Specialized teams are positioned for the swift restoration of tracks, signalling systems, and electrification at various locations such as Soro, Jaleswar and other important stations as and when necessary. Diesel locomotives are also on standby to ensure train operations if power outages occur.
• More than 600 staff are deployed at all strategic locations such as Bhojudih , Bokaro Steel City, Soro, Nimpura, Adra, Rajgoda, Bachhrawan, Kendua, Kalaghar, Tapang, Chatarpur, Palasa, Hindol Road, Radhakishorepur, Kenduapada, Raghunathpur, Haridaspur with adequate stocks of restoration materials like 57 BOXN boulders, 86 BOBYN Ballast and 123 BOXN sand/ Moorum/ quarry dust etc. Relief vans, 49 Heavy machineries, 7 trolleys and other equipments are also kept on standby to respond to any emergencies. Scratch rake is planned and assembled for carrying relief material or any other requirement with 6-7 coach & placed at Kharagpur. Tower Wagons are arranged and placed at Balasore, Datan, Kharagpur, Rupsa & Haldia.
• Stations along the Bhubaneswar-Visakhapatnam corridor are being closely monitored due to the Red Alert issued for coastal areas. Adjoining divisions viz. Chakradharpur & Adra are also kept on high alert along with Kharagpur division. A close watch is being maintained over railway bridges, tracks, yards, and signalling systems to prevent damage from heavy rain and flooding. Catch water drains and side drains are being cleared of obstructions like silt and vegetation. Standby Vehicles with drivers are planned at Soro, Balasore, Jaleswar, Kharagpur & Digha in order to tackle passenger evacuations and other contingencies.

• DG power is planned as an alternative mode of power in Kharagpur-Panskura section, Kharagpur-Bhadrak Section, Tamluk- Haldia Section & Tamluk- Digha section respectively. De-watering pump will be placed at Tamluk, Panskura & Balasore stations. Big hoardings and bill-boards are planned to be removed from the circulating area of the major stations as a safety measure. Continuous Track-patrolling will start from 18 hrs. of 22.10.2024 to 18 hrs. of 25.10.2024, and will be extended if required.
• Trains are to be controlled/stopped at stations depending upon the windforce and are planned to be regulated with all safety measures. Several train services have been cancelled, diverted, or short-terminated to minimize risk to passengers. These decisions are detailed in official bulletins, and passengers are advised to monitor updates via official railway channels.
• Help Desk will be set up at all important stations viz. Puri – 8926100356, Khurda road 8926100215, Bhubaneswar- 8114382371, Cuttack– 8114382359, Paradip- 8114388302, Jajpur Keonjhar Road-8114382342, Bhadrak-8114382301, Palasa- 8114382319, Brahamapur- 8114382340 and Frequent Announcements will be made amongst passengers as well as public.
• Medical Team with adequate Chlorine Tablet, Bleaching & other medicines are placed at Mecheda, Tamluk, Kharagpur & Balasore to tackle any need/emergency. Adequate food arrangements with baby food are made at all important stations in order to cater the trains which might be controlled due to cyclone. Water-tank of adequate capacity are planned & placed at all the important stations and at places where railway colonies are located.

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Dharmendra Tewari/Kshitij Singha