Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw held a high-level meeting on Wednesday with senior officials of the Railway Board and the East Coast and South Eastern zones to review their preparedness to minimise the impact of cyclone 'Dana' on services.
The cyclonic storm is likely to make landfall between the Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra Port, located around 70 km away from each other, in Odisha early on Friday. It has already led to the cancellation and route diversion of over 150 trains.
"The minister for railways instructed to ensure maximum preparedness with minimal disruption. He also advised that care must be taken to ensure minimum inconvenience to passengers," the railway ministry said in a statement.
"In the meeting, the general managers of East Coast Railway and South Eastern Railway provided the details regarding preparedness," it said.
According to the statement, nine round-the-clock dedicated war rooms shall be established in West Bengal and Odisha with officers of engineering, signal and telecommunication, operating, commercial and the Railway Protection Force so as to take prompt decisions on account of the cyclone and ensure early restoration of services and infrastructure. -- PTI