Kolkata
More trains between Kolkata and north Bengal were cancelled on Friday after fresh land subsidence disrupted track repair work at Farakka in Eastern Railway’s Malda division, where heavy rain had damaged the tracks on Thursday, railway officials said.
Divisional railway manager (DRM) of the Eastern Railway’s Sealdah division Rajeev Saxena said around ten trains from Sealdah were cancelled until Friday afternoon.
“Passengers should check the status of their trains before coming to the station. They will get refunds for the tickets,” Saxena told the media.
The cancelled trains included the Kanchangunga Express, Kanchan Kanya Express, Gour Express, Darjeeling Mail, New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express, New Alipurduar Teesta Torsa Express, Sealdah Agartala Express, Gaur Express, Balurghat Express, Padatik Express, Uttar Banga Express, Malda Sahibganj Passenger, and the Kolkata Radhikapur Express.
Several of these trains were scheduled to leave from Howrah and Sealdah stations on Friday night.
Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari called an emergency meeting at Nabanna, the state secretariat, due to the sudden crisis.
“Our transport department will run 20 additional buses along the north Bengal route. The district magistrates of Murshidabad and Malda have been asked to distribute food and water among the stranded passengers. We will provide them accommodation in government facilities or private hotels if train services don’t resume by tonight,” Adhikari said.
{{/usCountry}}“Our transport department will run 20 additional buses along the north Bengal route. The district magistrates of Murshidabad and Malda have been asked to distribute food and water among the stranded passengers. We will provide them accommodation in government facilities or private hotels if train services don’t resume by tonight,” Adhikari said.
{{/usCountry}}On Thursday night, while repair work was in progress, additional divisional railway manager (ADRM) of the Malda division Amarendra Kumar Maurya, who was at the site, said the repair work was expected to be completed by Friday noon.
Eastern Railway officials said the repair work was completely disrupted halfway when soil along an 80-metre stretch subsided on Friday, delaying the entire process. The signalling system was also affected because the subsidence tilted the poles along the tracks.