Cyclone Montha Disrupts Train and Flight Services Across Coastal AP

Cyclone Montha lashed coastal Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday with heavy rains and strong winds, disrupting transport services across the region. Railways and airports witnessed major cancellations as a safety precaution.

According to officials, 20 trains were cancelled, including 10 from Visakhapatnam, nine from various South-Central Railway (SCR) divisions, and one from Bhubaneswar passing through Vizag. Key affected services include the Visakhapatnam–Hyderabad Godavari Express, Visakhapatnam–Secunderabad Duronto Express, Visakhapatnam–New Delhi AP Superfast Express, and Bhubaneswar–Mumbai Konark Express.

The Visakhapatnam–Kirandul Night Express (Oct 28) and its return service (Oct 29) were also cancelled. The Howrah–Secunderabad Falaknuma Express, scheduled on October 28, was diverted via Vizianagaram, Titlagarh, Raipur, and Nagpur.

SCR announced 11 more cancellations, including four services on October 29—Dharmavaram–Narsapur, Lingampalli–Narsapur, Lingampalli–Kakinada Town, and Dharmavaram–Machilipatnam. Additional cancellations on October 28 include Kakinada Town–Bengaluru, Narsapur–Lingampalli, and Machilipatnam–Dharmavaram. Eleven long-distance trains have been rescheduled, with delays of 1.5 to 12 hours. Passengers were advised to verify train status through official railway channels before travel.

Air services were equally hit, with 32 flights cancelled at Visakhapatnam International Airport on Tuesday, leaving only a nine-seater Vizag–Jeypore service operational. The Vijayawada–Vizag–Vijayawada IndiGo flight was cancelled on Wednesday, though other services are expected to resume, said Airport Director N. Purushottam. Gannavaram Airport reported 16 cancellations, while Tirupati Airport saw four.