Cyclone Fani: 103 trains cancelled, 3 special trains announced for stranded tourists

As Cyclone ' Fani' comes storming towards mainland and evacuation process gaining momentum, Indian Railways has cancelled near about 103 trains. The cyclone is likely to affect 19 districts of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, excluding Kolkata.

Some of the trains those have been cancelled are:

• Howrah-Chennai Central Coromandal Express
• Patna-Eranakulam Express
• New Delhi-Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express
• Howrah-Hyderabad East Coast Express
• Bhubaneswar-Rameswaram Express
• Bhubaneswar-Bangiriposi Express
• Rajyarani Express
• Secunderabad-Kamakhya Express
• Santragachhi-Chennai Special

However, Railways have informed that it will grant full refund to passengers for the cancelled or diverted trains if the tickets are produced within three days from scheduled date of journey.

Today, Railways have announced three special trains for those tourists stranded in Puri, where Fani is most likely to make a landfall.

The East Coast Railway (ECoR) of Indian Railways has stated that it will run the special trains with reserved and unreserved berths from Puri. The first train starts at 12 pm, the second at 3 pm and the third at 6 pm today.

According to an ECoR official, the train is scheduled to make stoppages at Khurda Road, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Jajpur, Keonjhar Road, Bhadrak, Balasore, Kharagpur and finally Howrah.

Further, this train will comprise of General, Sleeper, 3A and 2A coaches. The train is expected to reach Bhubaneswar around 1.30 pm.