Indian Railways has declared a slew of mega blocks in the network of Jharkhand railway between West Bengal state and the east, and the effect of this move would be that dozens of trains would be cancelled until mid-December. These cancellations that commenced between October 11 and will extend up to December 16, 2025, are being undertaken mainly on the Chakradharpur Division of the South Eastern Railway zone. A wide array of infrastructure construction work has been completed in the railways in this time, and this includes renewal of tracks, renovation of signalling, as well as safety measures by the railways, making it necessary to terminate services on important routes.
Rourkela and Kansbahal, which are an essential portion of the Howrah-Mumbai main line, will have the mega blocks deployed. The blocks are to take place in phases with different time allocations on the up and down railway lines. The down line blocks will run on Saturday as follows, between 11:00 AM and 5:30 PM, whereas the up line blocks will follow every Tuesday between 4:00 AM and 9:30 AM. These well-thought-out blocks of time are to keep the disruption overall as minimal as possible; however, rail traffic will suffer greatly.
Due to those blocks, a number of long and passenger trains have been temporarily halted. The trains that will be affected broadly include the Udaipur Shalimar Express, Udaipur Mumbai Express, Tata Itwari Tata Express, Hatia Jharsuguda Hatia Express, Rourkela Jharsuguda MEMU, South Bihar Express and the Rourkela Jagdalpur Express, among others. On particular days, some of the trains will be cancelled fully, whereas others may experience partial cancellation, diversion, or time changes.
According to railway authorities, the cancellations are essential to ensure that much-needed work is done in developing critical areas that would enhance a smoother and safer running of trains in future. During a block, TRT (Track Renewal Train) machines, renewal of the railway signalling system, and research on the electrification procedures are taking place simultaneously. Such projects are critical in terms of capacity upgrading and efficiency in terms of operations on heavily utilized rail corridors in the state of Jharkhand.
The passengers are being asked to consult the train schedule of trains before they make their voyages. As the festive season takes full swing and heavy traffic is likely on the roads during Dussehra, Diwali and Chhath, the temporary shutdown of services will bring trouble to thousands of commuters. The authorities of railways have even advised people to find alternative methods of transport at this time or postpone non-essential travel plans.
It is also asking the railways to reduce the inconvenience created by ensuring that they update in real time on official portals and apps. At the underground stations, announcements and help desks will be implemented to help passengers get up-to-date information on cancellations, diversions and trains that have been rescheduled.
Although the cancellations are likely to induce short-term hardships, the long-term aim of these mega blocks can be seen as a more resilient and modern railway system in the region. After implementing the upgrade work, the commuters in Jharkhand should get to see better connectivity, timeliness, and safety in their journeys via rail.
