Railways run special trains for quake-affected areas, restore rail links

One military special left Ambala yesterday for Ahmedabad carrying army rescue teams, tents and other materials. Others carried equipment for excavation and other relief material, including bulldozers, aluminium strips, rations, blankets and tents from other parts of the country.

Till late evening, rail traffic had been restored up to Kedia Nagar railway station and Samkhalai junction. Teams of railway engineers and other workers had been working round-the-clock to restore the severely-damaged railway lines and other infrastructure.

They also managed to re-establish DoT communication with Gandhidam.

“The sooner rail traffic is restored, sooner relief in large quantities will reach people,” a railway official said. Special trains were also operated for the second day today from Chennai, Bangalore, Howrah, Mumbai, delhi and Ahmedabad to ferry relatives and NGOs free of cost.

On the Viramgam-Gandhidham route, the line has been cleared upto Maliya Miyana. The Harkiya bridge between Indiranagar and Surbari has also been restored. And the line up to Surbari is likely to be restored later today.

Rail traffic on some sections, however, continued to be disrupted due to extensive damage to tracks, bridges and other buildings.

Several trains had to be cancelled today, including Gandhidham Express, Gandhidham-NCG Express between Ahmedabad and Gandhidham, 112 passenger between Halvad and Gandhidham, two pairs of MG passenger between Kidiya Nagar and Gandhidham and passenger services between Dahinsara and Navlakhi.

Train movement on the broad gauge line between Palanpur and Abu Road was halted for more than two hours following reports of cracks on a bridge between Chitrasani and Jethi stations. The bridge was cleared for traffic after thorough inspections.

Northern Railway also closed the Yamuna bridge for two hours and started running trains only after ensuring that it was safe. The Saurashtra Mail and Bandra-Jamnagar Express were terminated at Rajkot on account of damage to tracks and cracks on two bridges en route.

Emergency railway control rooms are also functioning round-the-clock at Delhi (011-3388503,3388230), Mumbai (022-2017420), Ahmedabad (079-2111413), Ajmer (0145-421048), Rajkot (0281-454063) and Vadodara (0265-641244).