Guwahati, July 4 (IANS) After a day’s disruption due to landslides, normal train services between South Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Mizoram, and the rest of the country via Guwahati resumed on Friday, officials said.

The vital train services in the Lumding-Badarpur Hill Section of the Lumding division were disrupted on Thursday after landslides badly affected the railway track in the mountainous areas under Assam’s Dima Hasao district.

Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Kapinjal Kishore Sharma said that the NFR has successfully restored train services in the Lumding–Badarpur Hill section following a landslide that occurred between Dihakho and Mupa stations.

The landslide had disrupted train movement as large boulders and earth had fallen onto the tracks, suspending operations temporarily, he said.

“Train operations through the Dihakho-Mupa section resumed on Friday morning. The first train to pass through the restored section was Agartala–Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Express,” the CPRO said.

He said that soon after the landslides on Thursday senior railway officials immediately reached the site and continued the restoration work on a war footing. Continuous efforts throughout the night ensured the debris was cleared and the track was safely restored.

Sharma said that the help desks, set up at Guwahati, Lumding, Silchar, Badarpur and Agartala stations to assist passengers during the disruption, continued to provide updated information until normalcy was fully restored.

Necessary food items and water were also provided to the stranded passengers. The trains that were rescheduled or regulated at various locations have resumed their scheduled onward journey.

Passengers are requested to check train running information through official railway enquiry channels for the latest updates.

Meanwhile, after a week of disruption due to landslides in the same Lumding-Badarpur Hill section, regular train services between South Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Mizoram, and the rest of the country via Guwahati fully resumed on June 30.

The vital train services in the Lumding-Badarpur Hill Section of the Lumding division have been disrupted since June 23 after landslides badly affected the railway track in the mountainous areas under Assam’s Dima Hasao district.

During the monsoon period (June to September), every year, several northeastern states, especially Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur and southern Assam, remain cut off from the rest of the country for weeks owing to landslides, waterlogging and damage to railway tracks, leading to hardship for the people of the region.

–IANS

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