Farakka rail restoration in final stage; North Bengal services likely to resume soon

Eastern Railway officials said on Saturday that repair work on the railway tracks at Farakka in West Bengal's Murshidabad district is in its final stage, raising hopes that normal train services to North Bengal and the Northeast will resume shortly.

Trial runs on the restored section have already begun. As part of the checks, a goods train was run on the down line to test the stability of the newly laid tracks.

Farakka serves as a crucial gateway for trains heading to North Bengal and the northeastern states. The land subsidence, which first occurred on Thursday and worsened during repair work on Friday, had forced the suspension of most trains on this route, severely disrupting connectivity between South Bengal and the regions beyond.

Only a few services, such as the Howrah–Kamakhya Vande Bharat Sleeper Express, continued to operate. Trains like the Silchar–Sealdah Kanchenjunga Express and the Malda Town–Surat Express have now been restored to their normal routes.

The suspension hit travellers hard, especially tourists with bookings in the hills. Many were forced to take buses at inflated fares, with some private operators charging as much as ₹4,000 for a journey that normally costs around ₹1,500 by train.

To ease the situation, the West Bengal State Transport Department has deployed additional government buses between Kolkata and North Bengal.

Railway authorities attribute the subsidence to incessant rain and flooding in the area. Engineers and ground teams are inspecting every aspect of the restored track to ensure safety before full operations resume. Eastern Railway General Manager Gitika Pandey also visited the site on Saturday to review the progress.