The tracks at the train crash site in Odisha’s Balasore was “restored” for resumption of train movement late on Sunday, over 50 hours after the accident.
But a cascading effect led to the cancellation and diversion of many trains to and from Kolkata.
The first train on the Down line (towards Howrah) crossed the stretch at 10.40pm on Sunday, said a railway official. The first train in the Up direction (towards Bhubaneswar) crossed the stretch around 12.05am on Monday.
Railway officials said the search for people — dead or alive — from the remains of the mangled compartments and tracks ended on Monday.
“The restoration work started after the National Disaster Response Force ended its rescue operation that had started on June 2. All nine teams that were deployed have been withdrawn. No person, injured or dead, is at the site. The injured passengers are either being treated in hospitals or have gone back home,” said an official in the Kharagpur division of South Eastern Railway, who was at the site.
Around 7.15pm on Friday, an apparently faulty signalling system directed the Up Coromandel Express to the wrong tracks where it rammed into a goods train from the rear. All 22 coaches of the Coromandel Express got derailed under the impact of the crash.
Some of the derailed coaches toppled over to the adjacent line and hit the rear coaches of the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express.
Train movement in the section, part of the railway link between Kolkata and Chennai, had been suspended since the crash, forcing the cancellation of more than 100 trains and the diversion of many more.
On Sunday night, a freight train ran through the stretch to check the readiness of the tracks after the restoration, said railway officials.
Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw was at the accident site during the resumption.
“Our primary focus was to rescue the living and retrieve the bodies from the coaches and the tracks. Work to restore the line started after the NDRF gave the final clearance. The affected coaches were removed from the site with the help of heavy machinery. The damaged tracks were also replaced. The overhead infrastructure needed repairing and the signalling system had to be fixed. Train services started after all these were done,” said Aditya Kumar Chaudhary, spokesperson for South Eastern Railway.
Till 6.30pm on Monday, 45 trains crossed the stretch at Bahanaga through the Up and Down lines combined, said railway officials.
“Eight freight trains and 12 passenger trains passed through the Up line and 14 passenger trains and 11 freight trains through the Down line,” said an official.
The Puri-Shalimar Jagannath Express and Howrah-Puri Vande Bharat Express were among the first few trains to pass the stretch on Monday morning.
But the trains ran slowly, the loco pilots careful not to exceed the speed limit of 10kmph on the affected section. On Friday evening, the Coromandel Express was hurtling at 127kmph when the accident happened.
Railway officials said the speed limit on the stretch was 130kmph. Despite restoration of the tracks, the cascading effect led to the cancellation of many trains.
A release from South Eastern Railway said 85 trains were cancelled on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The Puri-Sealdah Duronto Express, Puri-Howrah Shatabdi Express, Puri-Shalimar Dhauli Express, Howrah-Secunderabad Falaknuma Express, Shalimar-Hyderabad East Coast Express and the Santragachhi-MGR Chennai Central Express were among the trains cancelled on Tuesday.