Come August 22 and 28 and rail passengers commuting through key stations like Tatanagar, Chakradharpur, Rourkela and Jharsuguda will face significant disruptions in train services.

The South Eastern Railway has announced that 20 express trains will be cancelled, several diverted and a few will operate with short termination or origination due to joint pre-Non Interlocking (pre-NI) and Non Interlocking (NI) work. 

The work is being carried out on the Raigarh–Jharsuguda third/fourth line electrified section and at Karorimal Nagar station under the Bilaspur Division.

According to a notification issued by Deputy Chief Operations Manager of South Eastern Railway, Srinivas Samant, this maintenance and upgradation work will impact train movement on several key routes. 

As per the schedule, the 18113 Tatanagar–Bilaspur Express will remain cancelled from August 23 to 26, while the 18114 Bilaspur–Tatanagar Express will be cancelled from August 24 to 27. Similarly, the 12101 Kurla–Shalimar Express will be cancelled on August 23, 25 and 26 and the 12102 Shalimar–Kurla Express will not operate on August 25, 27 and 28.

In addition, the 20822 Santragachi–Pune Humsafar Express will be cancelled on August 23, while the return train, 20821 Pune–Santragachi Humsafar Express, will remain cancelled on August 25. 

Other trains affected include the 12870 Howrah–Mumbai Express on August 22, 12869 Mumbai–Howrah Express on August 24 and 22845 Pune–Hatia Express on August 27. The Udaipur–Shalimar Express (20971/20972) and Kurla–Gaya Express (22357/22358) have also been cancelled on various dates, along with the 12905/12906 Porbandar–Shalimar Express and 17321/17322 Vasco–Jharkhand–Vasco Express. The 17005 Hyderabad–Raxaul Express scheduled for August 21 will also not run.

Four major trains will operate via diverted routes. The 12222 Howrah–Pune Duronto Express on August 23 will run via Jharsuguda, Titlagarh, Lakholi and Raipur to Pune. In return, the 12221 Pune–Howrah Duronto Express on August 25 will run through Raipur, Lakholi, Titlagarh and Jharsuguda to Howrah. Similarly, the 18478 Yoganagari Rishikesh–Puri Utkal Express and 18477 Puri–Yoganagari Rishikesh Express will also operate on diverted routes via Meerut City, Khurja, Mitawali and Agra Cantt.

Passengers are advised to verify train schedules before planning their journey and make alternative arrangements if necessary. The railway authorities have urged commuters to stay updated with official announcements during this period.