A rail blockade at Jorai railway station in West Bengal, organized by agitators demanding a separate state of Cooch Behar, resulted in the cancellation of two trains and the diversion of several others on Wednesday, according to an official. Among the cancelled services was the New Jalpaiguri-Guwahati Vande Bharat Express, disrupted by the protest led by the Greater Coochbehar People's Association (GCPA).
The blockade at Jorai railway station in the Alipurduar division of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) began at 6:45 am, disrupting train services on the key route connecting the northeastern states with the rest of the country. The agitators said they were holding the “indefinite” rail blockade to press for their demand for the creation of ‘Greater Coochbehar’.
The 22227/22228 New Jalpaiguri-Guwahati-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express and the 15704/15703 Bongaigaon-New Jalpaiguri-Bongaigaon Express were cancelled due to the agitation. Additionally, at least eight trains were diverted via the New Coochbehar-Golakganj-Fakiragram route. The diverted trains included the 20503 Dibrugarh-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, 12423 Dibrugarh-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, 15657 Brahmaputra Mail, and 15959 Kamrup Express, as per the official.