Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday urged Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu for urgent restoration of train services on Rayagada-Singapur route in Sambalpur division.
A railway overbridge on this route was washed away in flash floods on July 16, disrupting services.
In a letter, the Chief Minister requested commissioning of a second bridge on the section, which covers the districts of Koraput, Rayagada, Kalahandi and Balangir.
With a single track in use, the East Coast Railway was likely to run not more than 50 per cent of the passenger trains to these areas, he said.
Five up and down trains have been cancelled and eight up and down trains diverted via Raipur, Nagpur and Bhopal, bypassing most of Odisha, he added.
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