New Delhi: On Tuesday, Union Rail minister Ashwini Vaishnaw reviewed Indian Railways’ readiness for Cyclone Montha. Following forecasts of the cyclone’s impact in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Telangana, an assessment was conducted to evaluate the readiness of the East Coast railway network via video conference.
During the meeting, Vaishnaw stressed the need for continuous communication and prompt deployment of disaster response forces. He instructed all railway zones to be on high alert and restore train services as soon as possible once the cyclone has passed. The minister also went through the steps being taken for the safety of passengers, regulation of trains, and coordination with local governments and disaster management authorities.
Indian Railways has put divisional war rooms into operation for real-time coordination and monitoring of cyclone operations. Key material, equipment, and human resources have been deployed in the main divisions such as Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, and Guntur to make an immediate response possible.
East Coast Railway (ECoR), South Coast Railway (SCoR), and South Central Railway (SCR) zones have been ordered to increase their pre-operational preparedness and keep vigilant watch over train movements to avoid passenger inconvenience.
Top railway authorities, among them the General Manager of East Coast Railway, Parmeshwar Funkwal, Principal Heads of Departments, and Divisional Railway Managers, updated the minister on the precautionary steps already undertaken on vulnerable sections, especially in the Waltair and Khurda Road divisions. mpost