If you were booked on a train to Siliguri, New Jalpaiguri, Malda or Balurghat this week, the last two days have been rough. A roughly 20 metre stretch of railway track near New Farakka station has subsided after days of heavy rain, and Eastern Railway has responded by cancelling almost everything that runs from Kolkata towards North Bengal. Friday, September 4 brought a second round of cancellations, this time including both directions of the Howrah to New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express. Railway officials are working on the site around the clock, but nobody is willing to put a firm date on when the up line will carry normal traffic again.
What Actually Happened Near New Farakka
According to Eastern Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Shibram Majhi, gangmen on patrol noticed the damage at around 2.30 am on Wednesday night. About 20 metres of track had given way roughly 100 metres from New Farakka station, on the Barharwa side. The stretch sits on Eastern Railway’s Howrah to Malda division, which is the single busiest artery connecting Kolkata to North Bengal and, beyond it, to Assam and the rest of the Northeast.
Repair crews moved in quickly, bringing goods rakes loaded with stone chips down from Jharkhand to shore up the formation. The work then ran into two fresh problems. Soil on the bank of a pond next to the track slipped again, and an electric pole alongside the line began to tilt, which meant the overhead equipment had to be dealt with before ballast could go down safely. Around 150 workers are currently on site dumping earth and stone to stabilise the section.
Which Trains Are Cancelled on Friday, September 4
Eastern Railway has confirmed the following cancellations for Friday:
- Howrah to New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express
- New Jalpaiguri to Howrah Vande Bharat Express
- Howrah to Balurghat Express
- Howrah to Radhikapur Kulik Express
What Was Cancelled on Thursday
Thursday, September 3 was the harder day. Practically every long distance service to North Bengal from Sealdah was taken off, including the Darjeeling Mail, the Gour Express, the Padatik Express, the Kanchankanya Express, the Kanchanjungha Express and the Amrit Bharat Express. Two MEMU services on the Sahibganj to Malda Town section were also cancelled. Eastern Railway had first tried to route the trains around the damaged stretch, but it became clear fairly quickly that the alternative path could not absorb that many services in a single day.
Diversions and the One Train Still Getting Through
The up Uttar Banga Express has been kept running by sending it the long way round, via Bandel, Katwa and Azimganj before it rejoins the route at New Farakka. On Friday, the 13429 Malda Town to Anand Vihar Terminal weekly express is also running on a diverted path, through Eklakhi, Kumedpur, Katihar, Manasi, Munger and Kiul. The Digha to Malda Town Express has been short terminated at Rampurhat.
If you are holding a ticket on a diverted train, expect it to take noticeably longer than the timetable says. A diversion through Azimganj adds distance and puts the train on a section that was not planned around it.
Bus Fares Have Jumped, and Travellers Are Complaining
With the trains gone, the overnight bus has become the default option, and operators have noticed. Passengers at Dharmatala and other pickup points have complained that fares on the Kolkata to Siliguri run have been marked up to three or four times the usual rate, and that even at those prices seats are hard to find. If you are buying a bus ticket in the next few days, it is worth checking two or three operators and the state run services before you accept the first quote you are given.
Why This One Stings More Than Usual
Kolkata to North Bengal is not a route with many alternatives. Almost everything funnels through the Malda corridor, so a single damaged section near New Farakka takes out the Darjeeling and Dooars traffic, the Malda and Balurghat traffic, and a good part of the Assam bound long distance network at the same time. Flights from Kolkata to Bagdogra exist, but capacity is limited and fares spike the moment rail traffic collapses.
The timing makes it worse. Early September is when Kolkata families start locking in Puja season trips to the hills, and when college students head home or back to campus in Siliguri, Malda and Cooch Behar. A disruption that would be an inconvenience in February becomes a scramble in the first week of September.
If You Are Travelling to North Bengal This Weekend
- Check your PNR status on the IRCTC app or the NTES site the same morning you travel, not the night before. Cancellations here have been announced day by day.
- If your train is cancelled, the full fare refund is automatic on e-tickets. You do not need to file anything, but do keep the booking reference.
- Do not assume a diverted train will keep to its scheduled arrival. Build in several hours of slack if you have an onward connection at NJP or Siliguri.
- Compare bus operators before booking. Reports of three to four times fare hikes are widespread, and government run services are often the sanest option during a disruption like this.
- If your trip is flexible, moving it by a few days is genuinely worth considering. Eastern Railway has not committed to a restoration date.
- Carry water, food and a power bank if you do travel. Diverted routes mean fewer predictable halts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why were North Bengal trains cancelled?
A roughly 20 metre stretch of track subsided near New Farakka station on Eastern Railway’s Howrah to Malda division after heavy rain. Because that section carries almost all Kolkata to North Bengal traffic, the railway cancelled services rather than run them over a compromised formation.
Is the Vande Bharat to New Jalpaiguri running?
No. Both the Howrah to New Jalpaiguri and the New Jalpaiguri to Howrah Vande Bharat Express services were cancelled on Friday, September 4.
Which train to North Bengal is still running?
The up Uttar Banga Express has been kept in service on a diverted route through Bandel, Katwa and Azimganj. It is the main exception to the cancellations.
When will normal services resume?
Eastern Railway has not given a date. Around 150 workers are on the site, but fresh slippage near an adjacent pond and a tilting electric pole have slowed the repair. Officials have indicated the disruption could stretch across several days.
Will I get a refund if my train was cancelled?
Yes. When Indian Railways cancels a train, e-ticket holders receive an automatic full refund. Counter ticket holders need to surrender the ticket at a railway counter within the permitted window.
The Bottom Line
This is a weather driven failure of a single, heavily loaded section of track, and it has exposed how little redundancy the Kolkata to North Bengal route actually has. Two days in, the repair is still fighting fresh soil movement, and the honest answer on timing is that nobody knows yet. If your travel is not urgent, shift it. If it is, check your PNR the morning of departure and price bus and air options before the weekend rush makes both worse. We will update this page as Eastern Railway releases fresh cancellation lists. For everyday commuting inside the city while the long distance network sorts itself out, our Kolkata local train guide to the Sealdah and Howrah lines covers the suburban network, and our earlier report on the IMD orange alert and heavy rain across the city explains the weather system behind this week’s damage.
Sources: Uttarbanga Sambad (report published 4 September 2026, quoting Eastern Railway CPRO Shibram Majhi), TV9 Bangla (report published 3 September 2026), with the location and nature of the track subsidence corroborated by Millennium Post.
Featured image: a man walking along an Indian railway track beside a stationary train, photo by Abhinav Anand on Unsplash.
