Patna: The railways on Saturday suspended traffic on the Down line of the Patna-Gaya (PG) section under Danapur division of East Central Railway (ECR) after the swollen Punpun river touched the girder of bridge number 21 between Punpun and Parsa Bazar stations.At least four MEMU passenger trains on the route were cancelled as a precaution. These included Patna-Gaya and Gaya-Patna services, said Danapur senior divisional commercial manager Abhinav Siddarth.The Down line was closed from 8.10pm on Friday after the rising waters reached the bridge girder. Train operations are continuing on the single UP line, which remains safe and unaffected by floodwaters. The railways also diverted Dhanbad-Patna Express via Bandhua-Tilaiya-Islampur-Fatuha-Patna and Benaras-Rajgir Express via DDU-Buxar-Ara-Patna.Engineers and safety teams have been deployed to monitor the bridge and surrounding areas. The Danapur divisional control room has activated its 24-hour ‘war room’ to monitor railway bridges amid rising river levels. Sandbags, stone boulders and other safety equipment have also been kept ready at vulnerable locations.
