Rail services to Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, south Assam remain disrupted for 5th day

Guwahati: Rail services to Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur and parts of southern Assam remained suspended for the fifth consecutive day on Friday, even as the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) claimed steady progress in restoring the affected Lumding-Badarpur hill section.

NFR general manager Chetan Kumar Shrivastava visited the site to review the situation and assess the progress, an official statement said.

"Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) is progressing rapidly towards early restoration of the affected location between KM 108/6-8 in the Lumding – Badarpur Hill Section, which was severely impacted by multiple instances of earth slips due to heavy rainfall," it said.

Shrivastava, who visited the site to review the ground situation, directed that maximum manpower and machinery be deployed to expedite the restoration process and ensure early resumption of train services.

As part of the restoration efforts, around 20,000 cubic metres of earth that came down from the hill slope are being removed for track fitting, with 14,100 cubic metres already completed.

From the track area itself, 3,000 cubic metres of earth were targeted for removal, of which 2,850 cubic metres have already been cleared, it added.

In addition, a massive 1,27,000 cubic metres of earth have been removed from vulnerable hill slopes.

Drainage improvement measures are also underway, including the construction of 600 metres of kutcha drains and the cleaning of 400 metres of existing hillside drains.

"Until restoration is completed, it has been decided to cancel/partial cancel certain trains for the safety of passengers. Passengers are requested to stay updated through official railway communication channels for further information regarding train movements and restoration of services," it added.

An NFR bulletin had said on June 23 that the train services had to be suspended as tracks were rendered unsafe owing to "improper" road repair work by NHAI in the area.

"On account of boulders along with land mass falling over the railway track in the New Haflong-Jatinga Lampur section owing to improper construction work being undertaken by the NHAI for repairing of road, train services over the Lumding-Badarpur hill section had to be suspended from evening hours of today in order to ensure safety of railway passengers," it said.