The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has decided to go ahead with a major traffic block for five days starting from Saturday to carry out track interlocking works at four stations of north Bengal as a part of a double-lining and electrification project.

During the block which will continue till October 7, the NFR has decided to cancel as many as 64 long distance trains and divert 21 other long distance trains, including two pairs of Rajdhani Express, through another route.

According to sources, the work would be carried out along a 37km- stretch between Dhupguri (in Jalpaiguri district) and Ghokshadanga (in Cooch Behar district) stations which are along the principal rail route that connects northeast with rest of the country.

A number of trains connecting Calcutta with north Bengal and Northeast like the Kamrup Express, Kanchenjungha Express, Saraighat Express, Teesta Torsha Express and Uttarbanga Express — which run as daily special trains these days — will remain cancelled during the period. “Once this work is over, trains will run on double tracks along the stretch which will also be electrified. This block might cause some inconvenience to people but in the days to come, they will have to spend less time in their travel,” said an official of NFR.

The decision to cancel so many long-distance trains on the eve of the festive season has left stakeholders of the tourism industry — particularly those in eastern Dooars (or Alipurduar district — worried.

“Tourists have already started pouring in and we have a number of reservations during the period when the trains have been cancelled. The situation had just started becoming favourable and now this five days’ traffic block has come as a fresh poser for us. We fail to understand why the railway authorities did not carry out this task last month,” said Biswajit Saha, secretary, Jaldapara Lodge Owners’ Association.