In the wake of the threat posted by cyclone Amphan, the Indian Railways on Monday said that the New Delhi-Bhubaneswar special train will run on a diverted route for the next four days.
A senior Railway Ministry official said that the Bhubaneswar-New Delhi-Bhubaneswar AC Special Train starting from Bhubaneswar from May 19 to 22 and from New Delhi from May 18 to 21 will run on the Bhubaneswar-Angul-Sambalpur City-Jharsuguda-Rourkela-Tata route and bypass the Bhadrak-Balasore-Hijli route.
He said the step was taken to ensure the safety and security of both passengers and trains.
The official said that passengers going from and coming to Baleswar/Hijli (Kharagpur) will not get to avail of the services of this train for four days due to route diversion.
The official said that the East Coast Railway is keeping a close watch on the cyclone development in Odisha.
On Monday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a cyclone alert for West Bengal and north Odisha coasts as an extremely severe cyclonic storm 'Amphan' was looming over the central parts of the south Bay of Bengal and adjoining central Bay of Bengal.
Besides Odisha, a warning has also been issued for West Bengal, Sikkim, and Meghalaya till Thursday.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked for an emergency meeting on Amphan this evening with representatives from West Bengal and Odisha.
( With inputs from IANS )