Railway operations in the Malda Division faced severe disruptions following a major land subsidence event near the New Farakka station. The initial collapse forced a complete suspension of train movement on the Up line at 1:20 a.m. on Thursday, September 3, 2026. During repair operations on Friday, September 4, 2026, a second and more severe subsidence occurred between kilometers 256/31 and 256/35, creating a 15-meter deep sinkhole. This incident, caused by heavy rainfall and rising water levels in the NayanJuli area, tilted overhead electrification poles and damaged three feet of the railway track. Timely alertness by railway gangmen who displayed a red flag averted a major disaster. Over three dozen trains have been impacted, causing widespread travel chaos and private transport price spikes.
On September 3, several services were cancelled, including the
13189 Sealdah-Balurghat Express,
13033 Howrah-Katihar Express,
13154 Malda Town-Sealdah Gour Express,
13145 Kolkata-Radhikapur Express,
13169 Sealdah-Saharsa Hatebazare Express, and
13435 Malda Town-Gomti Nagar Amrit Bharat Express. On September 4, at least
14 additional trains were cancelled, such as the
13431 Navadwip Dham-Balurghat Express,
22301/22302 Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express,
13063 Howrah-Balurghat Express,
13053 Howrah-Radhikapur Kulik Express, along with the Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Shatabdi, Kolkata-Balurghat Tebhaga, Howrah-Malda Town Intercity, Sealdah-New Alipurduar Teesta-Torsa, and Malda Town-Azimganj Passenger.
To manage the crisis, several trains were diverted via the
Bandel-Katwa-Azimganj-New Farakka route, including the
13147 Sealdah-Bamanhat Uttar Banga Express,
13149 Sealdah-Alipurduar Junction Kanchankanya Express, and
13153 Sealdah-Malda Town Gour Express. Other services were short-terminated, with the
15657 Delhi-Kamakhya Brahmaputra Mail and
13011 Howrah-Malda Town Express terminating at Rampurhat, the
13410 Kiul-Malda Town Intercity at Sahibganj, and the
13417 Digha-Malda Town Express at Rampurhat. Additionally, significant timing changes were imposed on the Vikramshila and Garib Rath Express, and Bhagalpur station was directed to keep its yard clear.
