Two special trains leave Jammu with over 1,200 stranded passengers

Jammu, Aug 30 (IANS) Rising to its commitment to the nation despite heavy odds and vagaries of flood, the Northern Railways on Saturday operated two special trains from Jammu and Kashmir's Jammu with more than 1,200 stranded passengers.

Officials said the Northern Railways operated two special trains from Jammu station, carrying more than 1,200 stranded passengers to their destinations following unprecedented monsoon havoc in the Union Territory, which has stalled rail traffic in the region.

The Northern Railways announced the cancellation of 51 incoming and outgoing trains from Jammu and Katra stations for Sunday, while three others were short-terminated or short-originated at various stations in the division.

The first Jammu Tawi–Ambedkar Nagar reserved special train carrying around 674 passengers departed Jammu at 3 p.m. while another Jammu Tawi–Chhapra reserved special train left at 5 p.m. with more than 560 passengers on board, officials added.

Even as repair work on damaged railway bridges and track is going on war footing, normal rail traffic to and from Jammu is unlikely to get restored soon.

An official said that due to extensive damage to several railway bridges and tracks in the Jammu division following flash floods and soil erosion, normal rail traffic is unlikely to get restored in the next couple of days.

Besides, breeches of track at multiple locations in Jammu division, Bridge number 17 between Kathua and Madhopur and Bridge number 137 between Hiranagar and Ghagwal have sustained extensive damages, sources added.

"Even as the repair work is going on war footing, it will take at least three to four weeks for complete restoration of the double track and resuming normal rail traffic," sources said.

The railway traffic in Jammu division was completely paralysed for the last four days following unprecedented rains in the regions and consequent flash floods as well as soil erosion along the railway tracks and bridges.

Other than two special trains operated on Saturday for stranded passengers, two special trains were operated on Wednesday and Thursday for the stranded passengers.

Other than these special trains, there has been no arrival as well as departure of any train at Jammu, Katra and Udhampur railway stations in the last four days.

As normal rail traffic is unlikely to be restored soon, sources said that the authorities are exploring the possibility to run a few special trains on the single track for facilitating travel between Jammu and Delhi to some extent.

According to the sources, track between Katra and Jammu is also likely to be restored by Sunday as the ongoing repair work on the bridge number 163 at Chak Rakwal is nearing completion.

--IANS

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