Rail services remain affected due to cyclone Phailin

All train services between Howrah and Visakhapatnam remained cancelled Sunday for the second day in view of cyclone Phailin which hit Odisha coast Saturday night.

East Coast Railway and South Central Railway have cancelled more than 70 train services, including express and passenger trains, due to the damage to railway tracks in coastal Odisha and also in parts of north coastal Andhra Pradesh.

Authorities cancelled the trains on some sections as a precautionary measure as the extent of damage to tracks was still not clear. A decision to restore the services may be taken after an inspection by the officials.

All trains between Visakhapatnam, Bhubaneswar and Puri were cancelled. An official of East Coast Railways said all trains originating and terminating at Bhubaneswar and Puri stood cancelled.

Many long distance trains from Chennai and Mumbai heading towards Howrah were either cancelled or diverted.

Major trains which have been cancelled include Bhubaneswar-Tirupati, Puri-Tirupati, Bhubaneswar-Secunderabad, Tirupati-Bilaspur, Bhubaneswar-Mumbai and Tirupati-Bhubaneswar express trains. The authorities have also cancelled Vijayawada-Raigadh, Machilipatnam-Visakha, Vijayawada-Visakha and Kakinada-Visakha passenger trains.

Hyderabad-Howrah East Coast Express and Secunderabad-Guwahati Express have been diverted through Kazipet and Nagpur.