Fuel-carrying railway rake reaches Tripura after 15 days

Agartala (Tripura) [India], May 12 (ANI): After a hiatus of 15 days, a petroleum products-carrying train reached Dharmanagar railway station in North Tripura district as the railway tracks in a hilly section of Assam’s Dima Hasao district were put to function post-restoration.

The recent derailment incident between Jatinga Lumpur and New Harangajao disrupted goods trains and exacerbated the fuel shortage in Tripura.

Indian Oil Corporation Limited state coordinator Pramit Dhar told ANI that unloading of the product had already started based on the requirement of the North Tripura district and on Sunday the rake will reach Agartala railway station.

“The railway department has informed that the restoration work is completed and now the petroleum carrying rakes can move without any hassle. After the clearance from the railways, the first train was moved which successfully reached Tripura at around 3:30 PM,” Dhar has said.

On being asked whether more trains were coming or not, he said, “Another train is now at a halt at Silchar in Assam. After addressing the supply requirements there, it will steadily move towards Tripura.”

According to Dhar, primarily crisis of petrol is hurting the public and the restoration of the railway tracks would help mitigate the problems.

The train comprises as many as 49 wagons, including 19 filled with diesel and 30 loaded with petrol.

Sharing a video of the movement of the train crossing the affected area on his official social media handles, Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha extended his sincere thanks to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for the speedy solution to the problem.

“First POL rake crossed the landslide-affected site between Jatinga-Haranga after April 26th and is expected to reach Tripura late at night, today. Heartfelt thanks to Union Railway Minister Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw ji for swiftly addressing the issue. I have great appreciation to the NFR officials and workers for tirelessly restoring operations and to the people of Tripura for their cooperation. This rake will undoubtedly alleviate the fuel crisis in the state,” Dr Saha wrote on the social media platform X.