GUWAHATI: Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) on Tuesday, July 21, announced a series of special trains to assist passengers affected by severe flooding in and around Simaluguri town in Assam's Sivasagar district, according to a press release issued by the Chief Public Relations Officer's office in Maligaon, Guwahati.
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The flooding has forced the suspension of train services on the Simaluguri–Namtiali and Simaluguri–Selenghat sections under the Tinsukia Division, in the interest of passenger safety and operational requirements. As a consequence, several long-distance trains bound for Dibrugarh and Tinsukia have been rerouted via the Rangiya–Rangapara–Dibrugarh line, while some services have been short-terminated, short-originated, or cancelled altogether.
To ease the burden on stranded travellers, NFR has rolled out several special train arrangements. Train No. 05934 (Mariani–New Tinsukia) will run as a one-way special, departing Mariani at 00:15 hrs on July 21 and arriving at New Tinsukia by 21:00 hrs the same day. It will travel via Guwahati–Rangiya–North Lakhimpur–Dibrugarh, halting at over 20 stations including Furkating, Barpathar, Dimapur, Lumding, Guwahati, Kamakhya, Rangiya, Udalguri, North Lakhimpur and Dibrugarh.
Two pairs of special trains will also operate between Lumding and Mariani Jn. Train No. 07641 leaves Lumding at 08:30 hrs on July 21, reaching Mariani Jn. at 13:30 hrs, with the return service, Train No. 07642, departing Mariani Jn. at 14:00 hrs to reach Lumding by 19:00 hrs the same day. Train No. 07643 departs Lumding at 20:00 hrs on July 21, arriving at Mariani Jn. at 01:00 hrs the next day, while the return train, Train No. 07644, leaves Mariani Jn. at 01:30 hrs on July 22 to reach Lumding by 06:30 hrs. Both pairs will halt at every station en route.
Another pair of special trains will run between Rangiya and Mariani Jn. Train No. 05831 will depart Mariani Jn. at 18:00 hrs on July 21, reaching Rangiya at 03:20 hrs the next day, while the return service, Train No. 05832, will leave Rangiya at 07:20 hrs on July 21 to reach Mariani Jn. by 00:20 hrs the following day.
According to the release, these special services will continue until next Friday. NFR also noted that regular express train services between Mariani and Guwahati continue to operate.