Maoists Blow Up Tracks In Jharkhand, Train Services Hit; Pune-Howrah Express Stopped At Rourkela

Bhubaneswar: Train operation on Howrah-Mumbai railway line came to a standstill after Maoists blew up a portion of railway tracks at Chaibasa in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district late on Thursday.

According to sources, members of outlawed CPI Maoist blew up the railway track by detonating a bomb between Mahadevsal and Posaita stations, around 150 km from the state capital Ranchi, at around 10 pm, following which Shalimar-Kurla Up Express train was stopped at Goilkera station. Also, the incident site was found covered with banners and posters.

“Around 10:08 pm on Thursday, an explosion occurred between Mahadevsal and Posoita stations, which blew up the third line of the section. No casualty has been reported. The movement of trains was controlled and the convenience of the passengers was ensured,” a railway communique said.

It further said that tracks of around two to three metres were damaged in the blast. “Due to this incident, Samarsata Express has been diverted and 13 trains have been cancelled. Help desks at Rourkela, Tatanagar, Chakradharpur and Jharsuguda stations have been set up for passenger services,” it added.

Following the blast, personnel of CRPF and RPF reached the spot and launched a search operation on the track. Operation of trains on the route was also immediately stopped as a precautionary measure. The railway route is being inspected by local railway employees and officials. The restoration work is expected to be completed soon, sources added.

“Security has been tightened in the locality. The repair work on the railway tracks has been started from early morning and the train services will resume very soon,” West Singhbhum Superintendent of Police Ashutosh Sekhar told PTI.

While confirming the incident, senior DCM Gajraj Singh shared the list of trains stopped at various stations.

Trains stopped overnight at various stations:

18478 – Yoganagari-Rishikesh-Puri Utkal Express – Stopped at Manoharpur at 10:08 pm.

12905 – Porbandar-Shalimar Express – Stopped at Manoharpur at 10:08 pm.

18006 – Jagdalpur-Howrah Express – Stopped at Manoharpur at 10:08 pm.

18030 – Shalimar LTT Express – Stopped at Goilkera at 11:25 pm.

12102 – Shalimar LTT Express – Stopped at Tata at 10:08 pm.

12129 – Pune-Howrah Express – Stopped at Rourkela.

12810 – Howrah-CSMT Express – Stopped at Chakradharpur at night.

12222 – Howrah-Pune Express – Stopped at Chakradharpur at night.

12151 – LTT Shalimar Express – Stands at night at Rourkela.

12130 – Howrah-Pune Express – Standing at Tata at night.

The trains that were cancelled include Tata-Itwari Express and nine MEMU (mainline electric multiple unit) passengers.

Notably, the banned outfit has been observing ‘protest week’ since December 16 and had called for Bharat Bandh on Friday.