ABU ROAD

दक्षिण पूर्व रेलवे

SOUTH EASTERN RAILWAY

प्रेस विज्ञप्ति

PRESS RELEASE

Kolkata, 19.05.2020

SER GEARS UP SAFETY PRECAUTIONS FOR CYCLONE “AMPHAN”

South Eastern Railway has geared up safety precautions In view of cyclone “AMPHAN” which is likely to hit West Bengal and Odisha. Precautionary measures adopted in this regard are as under:

■Close watch o­n Railway Bridges, Tracks, Yards & Signaling System

■Silt, Vegetation and other obstructions cleared from catch water and side drains

■Close coordination with State Govt. officials

■All DG sets, diesel drive pump, earth moving equipment’s etc. has been kept ready.

■Patrolling at vulnerable locations by deputing patrolmen & Watchmen

■Sectional trackmen will patrol the tracks

■Tree cutting a road clearing teams are kept in alert at critical locations

■Arrangements made to stock sufficient quantities of track maintenance reserve materials

■Constant watch over Meteorological Department advisories

■Additional Control Room & Disaster Management Cell of SER to be opened

South Eastern Railway has done preparations and ground work to meet the challenges posed by Cyclone AMPHAN. Taking advantage of the meteorological forecasts,SER has planned for early restoration of train traffic and railway track, if affected by AMPHAN. Round the Clock Disaster Management Cell has been opened at SER HQs at Garden Reach and at Divisional Headquarters. Hot line has been established between HQ and divisional Disaster Management Cell.

SER has also taken adequate steps by positioning of Special Teams for early restoration of tracks, signaling system and electrification etc., Safety of Train Operations, to run train, if there will be no electric supply.

Diesel locomotives have been kept in position for utilization during failure of electricity. As Red Alert has been given in coastal areas, SER is keeping watchful eye at all the stations in Howrah – Kharagpur-Bhadrak Section and other sections too.

General Manager, South Eastern Railway has directed the concerned officials to be o­n full alert towards any incident like flood situation near Railway Track and to ensure the safety for staff and their families. The staff and their family members are advised to stay indoors when cyclone hits the territory.Help line number also to be kept operational at HQ and divisions for assistance to employees’ families.

Accordingly, all precautionary measures have been taken. The catch water drains and side drains have been cleared of silt, vegetation and other obstructions to ensure free flow of rain water. The water ways of bridges have been cleared of vegetation and other obstructions.

Close coordination is being maintained with State Govt. officials at different levels. Full Supply Level (FSL) in case of canals & Danger Level (DL) in case of bridges have been painted with bright red band across each pier adjacent to the abutment so as to be clearly visible to the Patrolman, Stationary Watchman and Drivers.

Arrangements have been made not to allow water to stagnate o­n the track. In station yards, the cross drains and longitudinal drains have been cleared/provided proper grades.

Patrolling of Railway tracks by Patrolmen has also been planned. They observe danger or interruption if any and protect the trains from any unusual occurrence. Stationary Patrolmen and Watchmen along with mobile Patrolmen have been deployed in vulnerable sections.

Instructions have been issued that whenever there is heavy rain, the sectional Trackman will organize patrolling of track o­n their own in their beat to make sure that the track is safe for passage of trains and ensure protection at all locations where washouts/slips are likely to occur.

Arrangements have been made to stock sufficient quantities of track & bridge repair reserve materials, viz., boulders, sand, cinder, quarry dust, ballast at identified locations. The Engineering relief vans and their equipments are kept ready. Bridge materials are kept in readiness so that they can be moved as per requirement. SER is in constant touch with Indian Meteorological Department and getting weather alerts o­n hourly basis.

IT HAS BEEN DECIDED THAT THERE SHOULD BE NO PASSENGER CARRYING TRAIN IN KHARAGPUR -BHADRAK SECTIONAND OTHER SECTION TOO IF REQUIRED, AS PER THE INPUTS RECEIVED FROM THE MATEROGICAL DEPARTMENT DURINGTHIS CYCOLONE PERIOD.

As, all passenger carrying trains have already been suspended till further announcement in view of COVID-19, o­nly some Shramik Special Trains, o­ne AC Special Train, Freight and Parcel Express were running as per guidelines of Ministry of Home Affairs. Shramik Special Trains will be suitably controlled, diverted and will not be allowed to run in the vulnerable section.

In view of the above Cyclone forecast, Bhubaneswar-New Delhi-Bhubaneswar AC Special Train has been diverted via Angul-Jharsuguda-Rourkela-Tata route bypassing Bhubaneswar-Hijli (Kharagpur) route for four days.

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 SO FAR SWR HAS RUN 72 SHRAMIK SPECIALS FERRYING 98,419 CITIZENS TO THEIR NATIVE PLACES

ØEight Shramik Special trains from SWR ferry 11,695 Passengers to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar o­n 17.05.2020.

SWR o­n Sunday operated 8 more Shramik Special trains, 6 to Uttar Pradesh and 2 to Bihar upto 6.30 pm today.SWR has so far run 72 Shramik Specials for migrant workers, students and families to return to their home towns, in differentparts of the country after relaxation of Lockdown in Karnataka.4 more Shramik Specials are scheduled to leave from Karnataka to Bihar, Rajasthan, Jharkhand & Jammu & Kashmir later tonight.

          The first three Shramik Special trains of SWR from Hubballi Division left by afternoon today.  

The first train left from Ballari to Azamgarh in Bihar with 1452 passengers at 10.35 hrs. Hon’ble MP, Ballari visited Ballari Station and interacted with the Migrants leaving Ballari.

The second special train from Hubballi to Basti in Uttar Pradesh with 1446 passengers left at 12.25 hrs and the third Special left Hosapete to Azamgarh (Uttar Pradesh) at 13.10 hrs with 1445 passenger.Arrangements food packets for the migrant workers leaving Hosapete for Azamgarh were arranged by a local NGO organization,HosapeteJain Samaj throughNRUCC/SWR member Shri Babulal Jain . 

The fourth Shramik Special train and first from Mysuru left Ashokapuram to Gorakhpur at 14.10 hrs with 1392 passengers. The District Administration provided lunch for the migrants while the local Rotary Heritage Club is chipping in with light snacks. o­n more train from Mysuru Division is scheduled to leave Hassan to Katihar in Bihar later tonight.  

The fifth Shramik special from Bengaluru left from Malur to Muzaffarpur in Bihar at 16.05 hrs with 1452 passengers o­n board.  

The sixth Shramik special and 70th Shramik train of SWR left from Chikkabanavara to Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh at 16.30 hrs with 1520 passengers o­n board.  

The seventh Shramik special and 71st Shramik train of SWR left from Malur to Bhagalpur in Bihar at 18.00 hrs with 1468 passengers o­n board. 

The eight Shramik special and 72st Shramik train of SWR left from Chikkabanavara to Bastiin Uttar Pradeshat 18.17 hrs with 1520 passengers o­n board. 

Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) have granted permission for movement of the stranded citizens including migrants labourers, workers, students, tourists to return to their native towns.As per the list provided by State Government, arrangement of train services for aprox 11,695 citizens were made for them to return to their native place from Hubballi, Ballari, Hosapete, Mysuru & and Bengaluru.Hon’ble Minister of Railway has tweeted that Railway has become a blessing for the people by helping those stranded far away due to Lockdown reach their hometowns and Railways is ready to run trains from any district to any where.So far SWR has run 72 Shramik specials ferrying 98,419 citizens to their native place. 

State Government had arranged to bring passengers of Shramik Special trains to the stations through BMTC Buses as per the protocol.SWR is transporting passengers to their destination as per the demand of State Government with proper protocol and the receiving State Government is ready to accept them. These special trains are being run from point to point with no stoppages en-route. 

The passengers are being provided with food packet and 2 water bottles of o­ne litre capacity each, dates, cookies and buttermilk for their journey en-route.The passengers were very happy to be returning to their hometowns.They thanked the Railways and State Government for arranging their return journey. 

Care is being taken to ensure social distancing, wearing of masks and sanitizing of hands and making regular announcement to caution the passengers for prevention and spread of Covid-19 virus before departure from Ballari, Hubbali, Hosapete, Ashokapuram, Chikkabanavara and Malur Stations. Hand Sanitizer along with liquid soap has been provided in all coaches to protect against spread of Covid-19 Virus.Railway is also ensuring complete sanitization of all coaches before boarding of special train by the passengers.

Special Trains are departing the Stations o­nly after all the passengers are medically examined by Government of Karnataka and issued medical certificate.Thermal screening is again done by Railway Medical Teams at the stations.None of the passengers was detected with high temperature.The Railway Protection Force (RPF) team is escorting the trains and ensuring social distancing. Details of passengers, coach-wise with address and mobile Nos. have been obtained.Details have been digitalized and stored for contact tracing in future, if required. 

Anyone who has to travel should contact the State Govt. o­nly and No tickets are being issued at Railway Stations over SWR. Reservation can be done for special train services through IRCTC website. 

                                                        Chief Public Relations Officer

                                                    South Western Railway, Hubballi             

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(Public Relations Branch, South Western Railway, Rail Soudha, Gadag Road, Hubballi-580020)