Landslide snaps rail link on Lumding–Badarpur route; restoration may take a week

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJune 25, 2025

Rail connectivity on the Lumding–Badarpur broad gauge section remains completely disrupted following a major landslide on June 22, and services are unlikely to resume before a week, Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) officials said Tuesday. Restoration work is underway at full speed, but persistent rainfall and unstable terrain continue to hamper progress.

A senior NFR official confirmed that train movement in the affected section will remain suspended until the entire track is stabilized and cleared. “All-out efforts are being made to restore connectivity within a week, depending on the weather,” the official said.

The landslide was triggered by heavy rainfall that caused a slope failure just 15 meters from the track, affecting nearly 100 meters of the railway line. The adjacent road also collapsed, further complicating the situation and disrupting road access to Silchar as well.

A high-level emergency meeting was held on June 24 to coordinate restoration, chaired by Assam Chief Secretary Ravi Kota and attended by NFR General Manager Chetan Srivastava, NHAI officials, and other agencies. A joint action plan was finalized to tackle both rail and road restoration.

More than 25 earth-moving machines—JCBs, excavators, dumpers—and 200 laborers have been deployed. Senior railway officers, including the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Lumding, are monitoring the 24×7 operation at the site.

The top priority is stabilizing the hill slope, which is still shifting due to rain and loose soil. Only after that can workers safely remove nearly 25,000 cubic meters of muck and debris. Final steps include track repair and protective measures to prevent future landslides.

Until restoration is complete, several long-distance trains have been cancelled or partially cancelled for passenger safety.

Train cancelled on June 25 & 26:

15611/15612 Rangiya–Silchar Express

15615 Guwahati–Silchar Express

Cancelled on June 26 & 27:

15616 Silchar–Guwahati Express

Cancelled on June 25:

15617 Guwahati–Dullabcherra Express

12514 Silchar–Secunderabad Express

20502 Anand Vihar Terminal–Agartala Tejas Rajdhani

Cancelled on June 26:

15618 Dullabcherra–Guwahati Express

05628 Agartala–Guwahati Special

05639 Silchar–Kolkata Express

Cancelled on June 27:

05627 Guwahati–Agartala Special

05640 Kolkata–Silchar Special

Partial Cancellations:

13175 Sealdah–Silchar Kaziranga Express (June 25): Short-terminated at Lumding

13174 Sabroom–Sealdah Kanchanjunga Express (June 26): Originates from Lumding

12503 SMVT Bengaluru–Agartala Express (June 24): Short-terminated at Guwahati

12508 Silchar–Thiruvananthapuram Express (June 26): Originates from Guwahati

07030 Charlapalli–Agartala Special (June 23): Short-terminated at Guwahati

07029 Agartala–Charlapalli Special (June 27): Originates from Guwahati

12520 Agartala–Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Express (June 26): Originates from Kamakhya

14619 Agartala–Firozpur Express (June 26): Originates from Guwahati

Passengers are advised to monitor updates through official NFR communication channels for the latest status on train operations and resumption timelines.