Bullet-proof engines for Silchar passenger trains

July 29: Four passenger trains pulled by bullet-proof engines will chug down the Silchar-Lumding stretch “any day this week”, two-and-a-half months after a militant attack forced the Northeast Frontier Railway to suspend services on the route.

The NFR today said they are also planning to run an express train between Silchar and Guwahati via Lumding, but all services will be available only during the day for security reasons.
The trains will be provided with the armed guards, to be handpicked from the Assam police battalions, Railway Protection Security Force and the CRPF, among others.

“The idea of introducing bullet-proof engines is to instil some confidence in our engine drivers and boost their morale,” NF Railway general manager Ashutosh Swami had said recently.
The NFR plans to replace the lookout glasses and shutter windows in the locomotives with bullet-proof glass sheets. “The remaining body of the train engine will be covered with bulletproof steel sheets.”

Rail services on the 185-km-long stretch between Silchar and Lumding were withdrawn after DHD (J) rebels gunned down a locomotive driver and injured three on May 15 — the day 10 truckers were gunned down by members of the outfit elsewhere in the district.

Twenty-seven railway stations were also closed down following the attack, as agitated railway workers vandalised Lumding railway division, demanding withdrawal of staff from the killing zone.

While goods trains began plodding gingerly down the route within a few days, passenger trains have remained suspended so far.

The NFR had provided bullet-proof jackets borrowed from the army to train drivers and operating staff on the route and now it has decided to employ bullet-proof engines as well.

Though the railway authorities declined to spell out exactly when the passenger train services would resume, sources said August 3 was the likely date.The news of resumption of rail services comes at a time when student organisations in Cachar and North Cachar Hills have decided to launch an agitation to demand that work on the gauge conversion project between Silchar and Lumding be expedited.

The All Cachar Karimganj Hailakandi Students’ Association and the All Dimasa Students’ Union agreed to begin the joint movement in Barak Valley and North Cachar Hills districts on Wednesday.

The All India Democratic Students Organisation has also decided to organise a demonstration in Barak Valley districts on Wednesday.

The All Cachar Karimganj Hailakandi Students’ Association and All Dimasa Students’ Union will hold a joint demonstration in the three Barak Valley districts and North Cachar Hills on Friday. On August 8, they will enforce a 12-hour bandh in all four districts. source: telegraph india