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Passenger train services on the arterial Lumding-Badarpur section, damaged extensively by heavy rain and landslips on May 14, are scheduled to resume after about 70 days..
The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has decided to resume the passenger train services on this section from July 22, a senior spokesperson said on Sunday. Apart from southern Assam’s Barak Valley, the Lumding-Badarpur section connects Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura to the rest of the country.
“Freight train services were started from the midnight of July 12 after the restoration of the section. Railway officials worked round the clock to prevent the scarcity of essentials in the affected areas,” NFR’s chief public relations officer Sabyasachi De said.
Much of the rain-induced damage to the Lumding-Badarpur section was in Dima Hasao, one of three hill districts of Assam. The 180-km section had suffered breaches at 61 places and railway assets worth at least ₹200 crore were damaged.
In view of the snapping of the railway services, Tripura and Mizoram had approached the External Affairs Ministry to bring essential supplies and transport fuel via Bangladesh.