When a train coach went missing from a Superfast Express in Odisha

Passengers on the Sambalpur–Nanded Nagavali Superfast Express were left bewildered on Sunday morning after discovering that a reserved coach had mysteriously vanished from the train.

According to a report in The Times of India, travellers holding confirmed tickets in the 3AC coach (BE2) realised something was amiss when train number 20809 rolled into Sambalpur—around 320 km west of Bhubaneswar—without their coach. Despite the missing compartment, the train departed the station, triggering confusion and chaos on the platform.

Ticket examiners were soon surrounded by anxious and angry passengers who were unsure whether to board the train at all. Some commuters scrambled into whichever coach they could find, while more than 30 passengers with confirmed berths ended up scattered across different compartments.


The East Coast Railway later attributed the incident to a technical snag that prevented the coach from being attached at the originating station. Officials said the issue was eventually resolved at Visakhapatnam Junction, where an air-conditioned coach was added to the train.

This, however, is not an isolated incident.

In 2024, passengers at New Delhi Railway Station faced a similar ordeal when the Delhi–Amritsar Shatabdi Express failed to depart on time despite crossing its scheduled 7:20 am departure. Reports later revealed that the delay was caused by a logistical lapse—an entire coach, including an executive class compartment, was missing from the train.

Such incidents go further back. In 2010, The Times of India reported that four coaches of the Lucknow Summer Special were allegedly missing from the original 21-coach train. Railway officials at the time, however, dismissed the claims.

Together, these episodes underline recurring lapses in coordination and logistics, raising questions about operational checks in India’s vast railway network.