The passengers of high profile down Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat Express on Sunday had a providential escape when lightning hit the train. Though the passengers were safe, the lightning caused other technical consequences.
The train had just passed the Jajpur station in Odisha when it was hit by lightning, passengers said, adding that when the lighting hit, the train was crossing the Baitirani River.
The immediate impact of the lighting caused the train’s electric system to go off, sources said. “Suddenly there was a loud noise and the train stopped with bang and then the lights and air-conditionerstopped functioning,” one of the passengers said, adding half of the train was standing on the River bridge and half outside it.
“We have been stranded here for the past more than three hours with reports that a diesel engine is coming to tow us to Kolkata,” Sumanta,a passenger said, adding there were no security men around the area and the railway staff had just managed to provide light through a back-battery.
The Indian Railways’ flag-ship semi-high speed train had been flaggedoff barely three days ago by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
None of the passengers however received any injury, sources said. Another passenger said that a branch of a tree had hit the front of the engine and its wind shield had cracks.
“There are cracks in the windows of two other compartments too,” he said, expecting theRailways to get the train to reach Kolkata as soon as possible.
