Cyclone Arnab: Railway bridge near Andhras Ichchapuram inundated; trains cancelled, diverted

Train operations in the Visakhapatnam Division were severely hit on Thursday (October 29, 2026) morning following heavy water inundation at Bridge No. 1052 (Up) between the Ichchapuram and Jhadupudi sections, triggered by an overflowing local rivulet. Railway authorities were forced to cancel, short-terminate and divert several passenger and express services after water levels crossed the danger mark.

According to South Coast Railway officials, multiple local and express operations scheduled for October 29 have been cancelled or altered. Train No. 58531 Brahmapur-Visakhapatnam Passenger, Train No. 18525 Brahmapur-Visakhapatnam Express and Train No. 58532 Visakhapatnam-Brahmapur Passenger have been cancelled.

To help stranded passengers, South Coast Railway has arranged to run a special train service between Visakhapatnam and Palasa. Helpline desks have been set up at Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and other major stations to give travellers the latest updates.

Train No. 68419 Bhubaneswar-Palasa Passenger leaving Bhubaneswar on Thursday has been short-terminated at Chatrapur, while Train No. 68420 Palasa-Bhubaneswar Passenger will originate from Chatrapur instead of Palasa. Train No. 18448 Jagdalpur-Bhubaneswar Express, which left Jagdalpur on October 28, has been short-terminated at Palasa. Train No. 68434 Gunupur-Cuttack Passenger, originally scheduled to depart at 2.45 a.m. on Thursday, was rescheduled to leave at 7 a.m.

Several long-distance services running along the East Coast Railway mainline have also been rerouted via Vizianagaram, Titlagarh, Sambalpur and Jharsuguda, skipping halts such as Srikakulam Road, Palasa, Brahmapur, Khurda Road, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. Train No. 20610 Tiruchchirappalli-New Jalpaiguri Superfast Express and Train No. 22864 SMVT Bengaluru-Howrah Express (both leaving October 28) are diverted via Vizianagaram-Titlagarh-Jharsuguda-Kharagpur. Train No. 12704 Secunderabad-Howrah Falaknuma Express (leaving October 28) is running via Vizianagaram-Titlagarh-Sambalpur-Angul-Cuttack, while Train No. 16523 SMVT Bengaluru-Balurghat Express (leaving October 28) has been diverted via Vizianagaram-Titlagarh-Sambalpur-Jharsuguda-Kharagpur.