Cyclone Nivar: Two Kerala-Tamil Nadu trains fully cancelled for November 26
The Southern Railways has announced the cancellation of two trains from Kerala to Tamil Nadu due to Cyclone Nivar. The trains, which were scheduled to start their journey on Thursday (November 26), have been fully cancelled. They are Train No 02624 Thiruvananthapuram Central – MGR Chennai Central Daily Special and Train No 02640 Alappuzha – MGR Chennai Central Daily Special.
The railways had earlier cancelled four special trains from Kerala going to Tamil Nadu on Wednesday. The Southern Railways had in total cancelled 69 trains fully in the past two days due to Cyclone Nivar. Twenty-one trains were partially cancelled and eight trains have been diverted.
The railways had announced that full refund of tickets will be given to passengers who had booked tickets for the fully cancelled trains. Those who did e-booking will automatically receive a refund. Those who booked tickets from railway station counters can approach the stations and avail the refund. The railways has also extended the time to apply for a refund. Usually, refunds must be applied for within a day; however, now the railways has granted six months’ time to apply for refunds in light of the cyclone.
Cyclone Nivar made landfall near the Puducherry coast on Wednesday night. Many flights and train services from Chennai had been already suspended. The northern coastal parts of Tamil Nadu witnessed heavy rainfall. Many spots in Puducherry and Chennai have already been inundated.
Over one lakh people have been evacuated from coastal areas of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Fifty teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are deployed on Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh coast. A team of NDRF is also on stand-by in Kerala’s Thrissur, to leave for TN in case the situation becomes worse than expected.
Here is a list of helpline numbers for emergency services.
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