After the derailment of six coaches, engine and the power car of Agartala-Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Express on Thursday at Dibalong in Assam, the normal train services were restored on Friday in the Lumding-Badarpur Hill section, officials said.
The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Kapinjal Kishore Sharma said that SMVT Bengaluru-Agartala Express became the first train to pass through the accident-affected section at Dibalong.
“Normal train services in the Lumding-Badarpur Hill section that were affected due to the derailment of Mumbai bound Agartala-Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Express on Thursday have been restored on Friday,” Sharma told IANS.
He said that special train, food and water were arranged for the stranded passengers.
NFR officials said that no casualties or major injuries have been reported, only some people sustained minor injuries.
The officials said that the Mumbai-bound Agartala-Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Express left Agartala station on Thursday morning. Six coaches, the power car and the engine, went off track in Dibalong at around 4 p.m.
An accident relief train and an accident relief medical train immediately reached the accident site from Lumding along with senior officials of the Lumding Division to supervise the rescue and restoration works.
After the accident, the movement of trains on the Lumding-Badarpur single-line section was suspended on Thursday.
The CPRO said that as a result of the derailment, many trains were cancelled, short terminated and rescheduled on Thursday.
The cancelled trains include Guwahati-New Jalpaiguri Special train, Rangiya-Silchar-Rangiya Express, New Jalpaiguri-Guwahati Special train and Silchar-Guwahati-Silchar Express.
Due to the derailment of coaches, train services between Manipur, southern Assam, Tripura and Mizoram were affected on Thursday.
Meanwhile, defence sources on Friday said that Army and Assam Rifles troops swiftly responded to provide humanitarian assistance to the stranded passengers of the railways.
They have provided food and drinking water to the stranded passengers and helped the railway authority in the restoration of the train services.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Tripura counterpart Manik Saha, who are away from their states to attend the NDA Chief Ministers' conclave in Chandigarh, expressed their happiness as no fatalities occurred in the train mishap.
Many express and local trains connecting Manipur, southern Assam, Tripura and Mizoram pass through the single track of the Lumding-Badarpur Hill section located in the mountainous Dima Hasao district.
People of southern Assam, Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur bear the brunt of floods during monsoon every year while the railway tracks, stations and other infrastructure get damaged due to flooding and landslides during the four-month-long monsoon from June to September.
Bangladesh slashes egg import duties, from 25 to 5 percent
The egg import duty cut would reduce import costs of eggs by 13.8 takas per dozen, making the country's cheapest source of protein affordable for the commoners, the NBR said in a statement after issuing an order in this regard.
Haryana Cabinet decides to implement apex court decision on SC/ST sub-categorisation immediately
The Haryana Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Nayab Saini, in its first meeting on Friday, decided to formally accept the Supreme Court's decision regarding the sub-categorisation of Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe reservations and implement it immediately.
Time to make India an innovation and technology hub in defence sector: Rajnath Singh
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said the government will provide full support to the private sector to make India an innovation and technology hub in the defence sector.
PM Modi to visit Russia for first Summit of expanded BRICS
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Russia on October 22-23 to attend the 16th BRICS Summit and will also hold bilateral meetings with leaders of the group's members and other invitees, the Ministry of External Affairs announced on Friday.
Bullet-riddled body of Bihar native recovered in J&K’s Shopian
Non-local skilled and semi-skilled labourers including masons, carpenters, paddy harvesters and others engaged in different labour-intensive occupations have been attacked by the terrorists in Kashmir Valley in the past.
ED raids MUDA office in land scam case involving Siddaramaiah
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) sleuths conducted raids at the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) office on Friday in connection with the MUDA scam.
Supreme Court commences live streaming of all court proceedings
In a measure to enhance transparency and accessibility of judicial hearings to the common citizen of the country, the Supreme Court has commenced live streaming of all court proceedings on its official website.
INDIA bloc, a coalition of opportunists: UP BJP president
BJP's Uttar Pradesh President Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary on Friday dubbed the INDIA bloc as a 'coalition of opportunists' and accused them of instigating chaos and disturbance in the state.