Silchar: Rail traffic on the Lumding-Badarpur hill section of the Northeast Frontier Railway was suspended for nearly nine hours on Tuesday after a rice-laden goods train derailed between Damchara and Chandranathpur stations in Assam’s Dima Hasao district.The derailment occurred at around 5 am near the 142/12 km mark, with residents in nearby hill villages reporting a loud crash. A wagon was found off the tracks.Railway officials said the rear two wheels of a rice-loaded wagon derailed while the train was moving at relatively high speed. The wheels reportedly dragged for several metres, damaging the track and several concrete sleepers.Train operations on the busy route came to a halt, stranding multiple passenger services, including the Silchar-Guwahati Express, Rangiya-Silchar Express and the Sealdah-Silchar Kanchanjungha Express.NFR accident relief and engineering teams reached the spot and carried out restoration work. The track was repaired and declared fit for traffic around 2 pm, after which services resumed and stranded trains were cleared sequentially. A temporary speed restriction of 10 km/h has been imposed on the restored stretch as a precaution.Officials said the goods train was carrying rice to Khongsang in Manipur. The cause of the derailment is under investigation.
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