Cyclone Vayu: Rly cancels 15 trains, short terminates 16 others

The railways has cancelled 15 trains and it will short terminate 16 others due to Cyclone Vayu, Western Railways said Wednesday.

The IMD said Tuesday Vayu has intensified into a severe cyclonic storm and it is nearing the Gujarat coast.

"Considering the alertness for Cyclone Vayu over Gujarat, the Western Railway has decided to fully cancel operation of 15 mainline trains, while 16 other mainline trains will be short terminated with partial cancellation as a precautionary measure in the cyclone prone areas.

"In addition to this, various safety and security precautions are also being taken by the Western Railway for train passengers of these prone areas under the jurisdiction of WR -- Veraval, Okha, Porbandar, Bhavnagar, Bhuj and Gandhidham," the railways said.

Some trains that have been cancelled are the Veraval-Amreli Passenger, Amreli-Junagadh, Delvada-Veraval on June 12 and 13.

The state government has launched a massive evacuation exercise to shift about three lakh people from low-lying areas of Saurashtra and Kutch regions.

The cyclone is expected to hit the Gujarat coast on Thursday morning, but several parts along the Maharashtra and Goa coast have been witnessing strong winds and rains.