Cyclone Montha impact: Trains cancelled, diverted

Hyderabad: The South Central Railway (SCR) has cancelled and diverted several long-distance trains as a precautionary measure ahead of Cyclone Montha’s impact across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha.

Train cancelled

• Secunderabad–Bhubaneswar Express (Train No. 18464), scheduled for October 29, now stands cancelled.

Trains diverted

• Ernakulam–Patna Express (Train No. 22643), scheduled for October 27, will run via Vijayawada, Warangal, Balharshah, Chanda Fort, Bilaspur, Jharsuguda, Bokaro Steel City, Rajebhera Block Hut, Chittaranjan and Madhupur.
• Ernakulam–Howrah Express (Train No. 22878), scheduled for October 27, has been diverted to Vijayawada, Warangal, Balharshah, Chanda Fort, Bilaspur, Jharsuguda, Rourkela, Tatanagar, and Kharagpur.
• Kanyakumari–Dibrugarh Express (Train No. 22503), scheduled for October 27, will run via Vijayawada, Warangal, Balharshah, Chanda Fort, Bilaspur, Jharsuguda, Rourkela, Tatanagar and Kharagpur.

Earlier, the India Meteorological Department said Cyclone Montha is likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm by October 28 morning.

The weather system over the southwest and adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal moved northwestwards with a speed of 15 km per hour (kmph) during the past six hours and lay centred over southwest and adjoining areas of westcentral and southeast Bay of Bengal at 5.30 am today.

Heavy rains are likely in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Parvatipuram Manyam, Alluri Sitaramaraju, Visakhapatnam and Anakapalli districts as well as East Godavari, Eluru, NTR, Guntur, Palnadu, Chittoor and Tirupati districts.