Landslide in Odisha's Rayagada Division disrupts rail traffic, several trains cancelled

A landslide between Maligura and Chhatariput stations in Odisha's Rayagada Division has disrupted train services, with the East Coast Railway (ECoR) regulating operations as a safety measure and to facilitate restoration work on the affected section.

In a statement, the ECoR said certain trains have been cancelled while some services have been short-terminated or short-originated. Four train services will remain cancelled on September 25: the 58502 Kirandul-Visakhapatnam Passenger, the 58501 Visakhapatnam-Kirandul Passenger, the 18516 Kirandul-Visakhapatnam Express and the 18515 Visakhapatnam-Kirandul Express.

Several long-distance services have been curtailed at Koraput. The 18005 Howrah-Jagdalpur Express, which left Howrah on September 23, will be short-terminated at Koraput, with the Koraput-Jagdalpur leg cancelled. Its return service, the 18006 Jagdalpur-Howrah Express, scheduled to depart Jagdalpur on September 25, will instead originate from Koraput, and the Jagdalpur-Koraput portion will remain cancelled.

Similarly, the 18107 Rourkela-Jagdalpur Express, which started from Rourkela on September 24, will be short-terminated at Koraput, while the 18108 Jagdalpur-Rourkela Express, slated to leave Jagdalpur on September 25, will be short-originated from Koraput. The Jagdalpur-Koraput section will remain cancelled in both cases.

The 18447 Bhubaneswar-Jagdalpur Hirakhand Express, which departed Bhubaneswar on September 24, will be short-terminated at Koraput, with its Koraput-Jagdalpur service cancelled. The 18448 Jagdalpur-Bhubaneswar Hirakhand Express, scheduled to start from Jagdalpur on September 25, will be short-originated from Koraput, and its Jagdalpur-Koraput portion will remain cancelled.

Passengers travelling through the affected section have been advised to check the latest status of their trains on the National Train Enquiry System (NTES) before beginning their journey.