Jharkhand news : Citing the movement of elephants along the railway tracks, the Railways have cancelled local train services for the third time, affecting stations including Tatanagar, Chakradharpur, Rourkela, and Hatia. Under the Chakradharpur railway division, MEMU trains running from Tatanagar to Chakradharpur, Rourkela, Barbil, and Gua will remain cancelled in both up and down directions from December 22 to 24.
In addition, the Chakradharpur–Rourkela MEMU, Hatia–Jharsuguda MEMU, Barabambo–Barsuan MEMU, and Rourkela–Jharsuguda MEMU trains will not operate from December 20 to 24. The cancellation of eight pairs of MEMU trains will cause travel difficulties for passengers from various districts of Jharkhand, including Tatanagar, as well as Odisha. Earlier, MEMU train services had already been cancelled on December 18–19 and December 20–21.
A herd of around two dozen elephants is reportedly crossing the railway tracks in and around Bandamunda, Rourkela, and nearby areas under the Chakradharpur division. Based on reports received from the Odisha Forest Department, the Railways decided to cancel these trains. About a month ago, several elephants were seen sitting on the tracks near Jharsuguda, which disrupted long-distance train operations for several hours at night.
It is worth noting that in the Chakradharpur division, several locations along the tracks in the Kolhan region and parts of Odisha have been identified as “elephant zones.” Train operations in these areas are carried out based on information from the Forest Department. However, despite the presence of elephants near the tracks, freight trains are continuing to run, while passenger trains are being cancelled.
Due to line blocks, the Railways have also cancelled trains running from Tatanagar via Rourkela to Bilaspur and Itwari for several days. The Tatanagar–Bilaspur Express and Tatanagar–Hatia Express will remain cancelled until January 7. Meanwhile, orders have been issued to cancel the Tatanagar–Itwari Express and the Tatanagar–Rourkela MEMU on alternate days until January 20. The Utkal Express has been running for several days via Jharsuguda to Sambalpur and Cuttack to Puri, while the Ispat Express has also been ordered to be halted at Tatanagar for several days.
