Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat Express Cancelled Today; Was Damaged by Hailstorm Yesterday

Bhubaneswar: East Coast Railway (ECoR) cancelled both Up and Down trains (No-22895 and 22896) of the Howrah-Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat Express for May 22, 2023 (Monday). Railway sources stated that it was due to the late running of a connecting Vande Bharat rake.

On Sunday, the train was partially damaged and the overhead power cables snapped due to heavy Nor’wester wind at an over-bridge near Baitarani Road in Jajpur district. Railway authorities had to use a diesel engine to pull the stranded Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat Express (train No-22896).

The hailstorm damaged the train’s pantograph, front glass, and side windows of the driver’s cabin. On Sunday, the journey of this Vande Bharat Express was disrupted for more than four hours.

This newly introduced Vande Bharat express runs six days a week, except Thursday. It has stoppages of only two minutes at Kharagpur, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Keonjhar Road, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, and Khordha Road between Howrah and Puri.  As per schedule, the train leaves Howrah at 6.10 AM and reaches Puri at 12.35 PM. It departs from Puri at 1.50 PM and arrives at Howrah at 8.30 PM.