Train services in Northeast India, including Tripura, Manipur, Mizoram, and South Assam, have been partially restored after a five-day disruption caused by landslides in the Lumding-Badarpur section. The Northeast Frontier Railway continues restoration work on a war footing to resume full operations and ease travel woes for stranded passengers.
After five days of complete disruption, train services between South Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Mizoram, and the rest of India via Guwahati were partially restored on Friday. The interruption, triggered by massive landslides in Assam’s Dima Hasao district, had severely affected connectivity and stranded thousands of passengers across multiple northeastern states.
According to Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Kapinjal Kishore Sharma, partial train operations have resumed with the Agartala–SMVT Bengaluru Humsafar Express and Silchar–Guwahati special trains being run to facilitate stranded passengers. However, full operations are yet to resume as massive restoration work continues on the Lumding–Badarpur hill section.
The disruption was caused by heavy rainfall leading to large-scale landslides. Huge amounts of earth, boulders, and muck slid from adjoining hills and blocked the tracks between Mupa and Dihakho stations in Lumding Division. The debris has rendered train operations on the single-line track unsafe, prompting the NFR to suspend services until full clearance is ensured.
“Restoration work is ongoing on a war footing. Our engineering teams and senior officials are on-site supervising the efforts. Machinery and manpower have been deployed in adequate numbers to speed up the track clearance and ensure safe train movement,” said CPRO Sharma.
Help desks have been established at Guwahati, Lumding, Silchar, Badarpur, and Agartala to provide assistance and information to passengers affected by the disruption. This is the third major service cut-off in the region in the last month, underscoring the vulnerability of the railway network during the monsoon.
Since June 23, connectivity through the Lumding–Badarpur hill section had been completely suspended due to a series of landslides. The affected railway line is a crucial link connecting the landlocked states of Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, and parts of southern Assam with the rest of India. This fragile route often suffers during the monsoon, leading to frequent disruptions.
Regular services in the region had only resumed on June 30 following a week-long disruption from June 23. But again, fresh landslides caused another disruption in early July. Normal services briefly resumed on July 4, only to be halted again days later.
The Lumding–Badarpur section, which snakes through the mountainous terrain of Assam’s Dima Hasao district, is particularly prone to landslides during the rainy season. From June to September, parts of Northeast India routinely get cut off from the rest of the country due to landslides, waterlogging, and damaged infrastructure. These disruptions not only hinder passenger movement but also affect the transportation of essential goods to the region, further compounding the hardship.
Local authorities and the Indian Railways are working in close coordination to clear debris and stabilize vulnerable slopes. However, officials have not provided a specific timeline for the full resumption of train services. Given the recurring nature of landslides and the challenging terrain, experts are calling for more long-term infrastructural solutions to prevent future disruptions.
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Passengers and local residents have expressed concern over the frequent breakdown of railway connectivity during the monsoon months. Many have urged the central government and Indian Railways to invest in landslide-resistant rail infrastructure and advanced monitoring systems to reduce such disruptions.
For now, the partial resumption of services comes as a relief to many, though the road to full normalcy remains uncertain until the tracks are fully cleared and certified safe by railway authorities.
