Assam: Track restoration in the Lumding-Badarpur hill section

Guwahati: The operation of passenger and goods-carrying trains that got affected with effect from April 25, 2024, owing to derailments of the engine of a goods train was restored on April 26, 2024, at about 2 p.m..

The derailment had occurred at KM 110/7 between Jatinga Lampur and New Harangajao Station under the Lumding Division of N.F. Railway.

On receipt of the information about the derailment, senior officials from the division as well as from HQ at Maligaon, led by General Manager Chetan Kumar Shrivastava, immediately rushed to the site. The Divisional Railway Manager of Lumding Divisions, Prem Ranjan Kumar, was also there at the site. Adequate manpower and machinery were also arranged and reached the site for the restoration work. Assistance from the Indian Army was also provided in terms of 25 trucks and 100 personnel. The Indian Army team, led by Major Abhishek and his team from the Silchar Unit, were stationed at Jatinga and were in readiness to help the Railway Administration and passengers in case of any exigency. The Indian Army stayed at the site till the last train was passed on April 26, 2024. Although the restoration work continued on a 24x7 basis, the weather conditions on the hill were not favourable due to frequent rainfall. During the restoration work, a land settlement was detected in that area for a track length of about 150 meters. Ballasting was done in the affected portion by removing sleepers and rails. Then packing of ballast was done by using a track machine to improve the stability. Senior officials at the site continued monitoring the restoration works. Finally, the affected portion was fit for train operation at about 2 p.m., and the first train passed over the portion at about 4 p.m.

More than 300 labourers, along with other technicians and 10 machines, worked round the clock to restore the train service on that route, which is vital not only for the entire South Assam area but also for states like Tripura, Manipur, and Mizoram. In view of frequent rainfall in the nearby hilly areas, the entire hill section from Lumding to Badarpur is being monitored day and night.

However, in view of the derailment and subsequent detection of the settlement of tracks, the N.F. Railway authority has decided to impose restrictions on train movement in the Jatinga Lampur and New Haflong portions of the hill section w.e.f. April 27, 2024. Accordingly, there will be no train movement on that section from 18:00 hours to 06:00 hours temporarily for undertaking works related to the safety of railway tracks. This restriction will result in cancellations and rescheduling of a few trains, which will be notified from time to time until the full normalization of that section, a press release said.

 Also Read: N. F. Railway to operate weekly summer special trains between Guwahati & New Tinsukia (sentinelassam.com)

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