Cyclone Arnab: Bhubaneswar-Visakhapatnam Vande Bharat among 35 trains cancelled

South Central Railway on Friday (October 30, 2026) rescheduled four more trains because of the flooding on the line near Ichchapuram after Cyclone Arnab. The Howrah-Secunderabad Falaknuma Express (12703) will leave at 2.45 p.m. instead of 8.25 a.m., and the Bhubaneswar-Secunderabad Visakha Express (17015) at 10.30 a.m. instead of 8 a.m. The Secunderabad-Shalimar Express (22850) will leave at 6 p.m. instead of 3.55 a.m. The Charlapalli-Shalimar Express (18046) has been put back by a day, to 8.40 a.m. on October 31.

Full list of trains cancelled, diverted and rescheduled

The CSMT Mumbai-Bhubaneswar Express (11019) has been cancelled on October 31, and the Howrah-Tiruchchirappalli Express (12663) diverted via Kharagpur, Tatanagar, Jharsuguda and Balharshah.

On Thursday (October 29), train services along the Chennai-Howrah main railway network experienced major disruptions, with premium services including the Bhubaneswar-Visakhapatnam Vande Bharat Express among 35 trains cancelled, 11 rescheduled and eight short-terminated.

Heavy rain and rising water levels over railway bridges along the Ichchapuram-Jhadupudi section prompted railway authorities to halt operations as a precautionary measure. Restoration and track safety assessments are currently under way on a war footing to enable early resumption of normal traffic flow.

According to official operational updates released on Thursday evening, key long-distance and high-priority express services scheduled for October 29 and 30 have been cancelled. Among the primary cancellations are the Bhubaneswar-Visakhapatnam Vande Bharat Express (20841/20842), Shalimar-Mangalore Central Vivek Express (22851), Howrah-SMVT Bengaluru Express (12863), Shalimar-Vasco da Gama Express (18047) and Puri-Tirupati Express (17479). Meanwhile, services along the Visakhapatnam-Secunderabad corridor, including the Visakhapatnam-Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express (20833/20834), remained operational as scheduled.

To maintain essential inter-state passenger connectivity, several long-distance trains were diverted via alternative routes including Hijli, Tatanagar, Jharsuguda and Vizianagaram. Diverted trains include the New Jalpaiguri-Nagercoil Amrit Bharat Express (20603), Dibrugarh-Kanniyakumari Vivek Express (22504), Silchar-Coimbatore Express (15628) and CSMT-Bhubaneswar Express (11019).

Forty-two train movements were also regulated or rescheduled across the region. Notable among them, the Howrah-MGR Chennai Central Coromandel Express (12841), leaving Howrah on October 29, was rescheduled to depart at 10.55 p.m. and diverted via Tatanagar and Jharsuguda. On the outbound corridor, the Secunderabad-Bhubaneswar New Visakha Express (17016) and Secunderabad-Howrah Falaknuma Express (12704) departed after revised delays.

Railway authorities have urged passengers to verify updated train running status through official enquiry channels before departing for stations, regretting the operational inconvenience caused.