HT DIGITAL
GUWAHATI, JULY 4: Train operations in Assam’s Dima Hasao district were completely suspended following a huge landslide that occurred on the Lumding–Badarpur hill section close to Mupa station on Thursday. The accident took place at about 2:45 PM between kilometer posts 51/2–3 (DKE–MPP), knocking down about 30 big boulders and 100 cubic meters of soil on to the railway line, a statement released by the Lumding Senior Divisional Commercial Manager (DCM) said.
The report also said small rocks continued to roll along the slope, threatening more to railroad operations. One of the impacted trains, the Silchar–Guwahati Express (Train No. 15616), was halted by an on-duty resting watchman. The loco pilot immediately used the emergency brake and reversed the train to safety back to Mupa station to prevent potential catastrophe.
Related Posts:
In return, the railways deployed heavy equipment to clear the wreckage. Two excavators are already operating at km 53/2–3, while a JCB is being brought on the railway track to be loaded onto a BFR wagon at Mupa to be transported to the affected area.
As a result of the blockage, a number of trains have been held back on route to Guwahati. They include:
• Train No. 15616 Silchar–Guwahati Express, which was brought back to Mupa at 3:18 PM and is now detained there.
• Train No. 13174 Kanchanjunga Express, regulated at MXR after reaching at 4:05 PM.
• Train No. 12520 Agartala–Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Express, detained at New Haflong from 4:00 PM.
• Train No. 15618 Dharmanagar–Guwahati Express, which was moved out of Dullabcherra at 3:47 PM and should be stopped at NHGJ.
• Train No. 14619 Agartala–Firozpur Express, which reached Jatinga Lampur at 3:45 PM and will likely be halted further along the line.
Train operations will resume only after debris is completely cleared from the tracks, railway authorities assured. Meanwhile, relief desks have been opened at Guwahati, Lumding, Silchar, Badarpur, and Agartala stations to help stranded passengers.
Significantly, this isn’t the first instance of disruption in the area—train operations on the sensitive Lumding–Badarpur route had also been halted on June 23 after a landslide had occurred earlier between New Haflong and Jatinga Lampur.
