Malda: Hundreds of passengers were left stranded as north Bengal-bound trains were delayed for hours or cancelled on Thursday following track subsidence near Farakka in Murshidabad.The subsidence occurred between Tildanga and New Farakka stations early Thursday, damaging the up line and bringing northbound train movement to a halt. Though repair work began immediately, the track was restored only in the afternoon.Farakka, Dhulian and large parts of northern Murshidabad have witnessed torrential rain since Wednesday morning, causing water levels to rise dangerously in several rivers, including the Ganga.At Farakka, the block development office was flooded, forcing BDO Sujay Byapari and his staff to leave their vehicles behind and commute to work by rickshaw.Nearly 3km south of New Farakka station, a section of land stretching over 50 metres subsided beneath the railway tracks, leaving the rails suspended in mid-air. Train services were halted immediately.New Jalpaiguri (NJP)-bound trains, including the Darjeeling Mail, Kanchankanya Express and Malda-bound Gour Express, were stranded at various stations. The NJP-bound Vande Bharat Express was diverted and arrived at least two hours late.Similar subsidence occurred along the stretch in 2011 and 2015 near Malda’s Jamirghata station, disrupting train services for more than two days.In an official statement, Malda division announced the cancellation and diversion of several trains on Thursday. Long-distance services, including the Thiruvananthapuram-Silchar Express, Kanyakumari-Dibrugarh Express, Howrah-NJP Shatabdi Express and Bengaluru-Agartala Express, were diverted via the Nalhati-Azimganj-Jangipur route.The Darjeeling Mail, Gour Express, Jogbani Express and Padatik Express were also re-routed. Down trains, including the Howrah-bound Vande Bharat Express, were diverted via Azimganj.The Howrah-Malda Town Express and Kiul-Malda Town Express were short-terminated, while passenger train services between Malda and Sahibganj were cancelled.Railway sources said repair work was nearly complete and train services were expected to return to normal by Friday.
