Rail movement on the crucial Lumding–Guwahati section of the Northeast Frontier Railway was severely disrupted on Saturday after the Sairang–New Delhi Rajdhani Express derailed following a collision with an elephant in the Jamunamukh–Kampur section under the Lumding Division.
The accident brought traffic on the down line to a near halt, forcing the railway administration to cancel nine passenger services on December 20 and regulate or short-terminate several others. Senior NFR officials, including the General Manager, rushed to the site as emergency teams began restoration work to resume operations.
Among the cancelled trains were the Guwahati–Jorhat Town Jan Shatabdi Express, Guwahati–Badarpur Vistadome Express, Rangiya–New Tinsukia Express and Lumding–Guwahati Passenger, affecting connectivity between Guwahati, Upper Assam and the Barak Valley. The Alipurduar–Mariani Express was short-terminated at Digaru, while the return service was re-originated from there.
Long-distance trains such as the Kanchanjunga Express, Vivek Express, Kamrup Express, Avadh Assam Express and Humsafar Express were detained or regulated at various stations across Assam, highlighting the widespread impact of the derailment.
The Northeast Frontier Railway advised passengers to check real-time updates before travelling and said safety and early restoration remained its top priority, even as the incident again drew attention to human–wildlife conflict along forested railway stretches in Assam.
