Rajendra Bridge work has disrupted train services across Bihar, with East Central Railway cancelling 35 trains, diverting 33 and altering the operations of nine others on 28 September. The changes affect services linked to Patna, Mokama, Barauni, Kiul, Jaynagar, Howrah and several other stations.
Passengers travelling on affected routes have been advised to check their train status before leaving for the station. Some services will not operate, while others will use alternate routes or skip scheduled stops. Several trains will also terminate before their usual destination or originate from a different station.
Among the cancelled services are the Howrah-Mokama and Mokama-Howrah Express, Howrah-Jaynagar and Jaynagar-Howrah Express, Mithilanchal Express services between Sitamarhi and Kolkata, Ganga Sagar Express services between Sealdah and Jaynagar, Saharsa Intercity services to and from Rajendra Nagar, Patna-Malda Town Express, Jansewa Express services between Bhagalpur and Muzaffarpur, and Patna-Jaynagar Express services.
Other cancelled trains include the New Delhi-Malda Town Express, Jaynagar-Rourkela Express, Pataliputra-Gorakhpur Express, Banaras-Ara MEMU services and several MEMU trains operating between Mokama, Kiul, Patna and Ara. East Central Railway’s published list also includes multiple services connecting Bihar with Kolkata, Malda, Sahrasa, Darbhanga and other destinations.
The railway has diverted several long-distance services rather than cancelling them. The Purva Express will use the Kiul-Bakhtiyarpur route and will not stop at Mokama and Barh. The Garib Rath Express will operate via Samastipur and Danapur, skipping Barauni, Mokama, Bakhtiyarpur and Patna. The Amritsar-Howrah Mail will use the Bakhtiyarpur-Kiul route and will not stop at Mokama.
Other diverted services include the Bagh Express, Kumbh Express, Vibhuti Express, Sealdah-Ballia Express, Patna-Jasidih Express, Capital Express, Maurya Express, Purvanchal Express, Sikkim Mahananda Express, Brahmaputra Mail and Dibrugarh-Lokmanya Tilak Express. The New Barauni-Patna and Patna-New Barauni Vande Bharat services will also skip Patna City.
Some trains will terminate or originate at stations different from their normal destinations. The Bagaha-Pataliputra Intercity will terminate at Hajipur, while the Katihar-Patna Intercity will terminate at New Barauni. The Danapur-Barauni MEMU will terminate at Mokama and the Jasidih-Mokama MEMU at Kiul. In the opposite direction, the Pataliputra-Bagaha Intercity will originate from Hajipur, the Patna-Katihar Intercity from New Barauni, and selected MEMU services will originate from Mokama or Kiul.
The changes are linked to work on the new rail bridge being built parallel to the existing Rajendra Bridge over the Ganga. According to East Central Railway’s chief public relations officer, the existing railway bridge has only a single line and cannot technically be converted into a double-line bridge. The new bridge is therefore being connected to the railway network and prepared for operation.
The existing Rajendra Bridge is about 1.9 kilometres long and has carried both rail and road traffic between Mokama and Barauni since 1959. The project for the parallel double-line rail bridge was approved in the 2015-16 Railway Budget at an estimated cost of approximately ₹1,491.47 crore. Once connected, the new bridge will link the rail network near Mokama with Upper Hathidah Junction, Tal Junction, Rampur Dumra, Dinkar Gram Simaria and Barauni Junction. Passengers have been advised to confirm their service, route and boarding station through railway channels before travelling.
