Patna: Rail passengers travelling through eastern Uttar Pradesh and north Bihar are set to face disruptions later this week as Indian Railways undertakes non-interlocking work on the Gorakhpur–Gonda section. The work, linked to the commissioning of an automatic signalling system, will require traffic blocks on January 23 and 24, railway officials said on Wednesday.
The upgrade is being carried out on the 12 km stretch between Babhnan, Parsa Tiwari and Swami Narayan Chhapia. According to a statement issued from Hajipur, the temporary blocks will affect the movement of several express and special trains, leading to route diversions, delays and changes in scheduled halts.
At least a dozen trains, including the Darbhanga–New Delhi Express, Muzaffarpur–Anand Vihar Terminal Express and Amritsar–New Jalpaiguri Express, will be diverted via the Gorakhpur–Barhni–Gonda route instead of the usual Gorakhpur–Basti–Gonda section. Railways officials said the diversions are necessary to ensure safety during the signalling work.
In addition, five long-distance services will either be regulated or re-scheduled. Trains such as the Anand Vihar Terminal–Kamakhya Express and the Jammu Tawi–Barauni Express are expected to face delays ranging from 60 to 90 minutes across Northern Railway and the Lucknow division.
Passengers travelling to or from smaller stations will also be affected. Babhnan station will see no halts for 13 trains over the two-day period, while Swami Narayan Chhapia will be temporarily bypassed by two Bandra–Barauni services. The railways has advised passengers to check updated schedules before travel and plan their journeys accordingly.
