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East Central Railway cancelled 35 trains that serve Bihar on Monday, Sept. 28, diverted 33 others, and short-terminated or short-originated 9 more while crews connect a new double-line rail bridge at Rajendra Pul near Mokama. The Indian Express published East Central Railway’s Danapur Division train plan with those counts, naming the Howrah-Mokama Express, both Howrah-Jaynagar trains, and both Jansewa Express services among Monday’s cancellations.
Anyone holding a ticket through Mokama, Barauni, Hathidah, Simaria, or Patna should treat Sept. 20 through Oct. 4 as a daily check, not a one-day snag. Samastipur Division of East Central Railway said pre-non-interlocking and non-interlocking work at those stations will change operations on various dates in that window. Recheck the PNR in the same Indian Railways booking systems you used to buy the ticket, because cancelled and diverted lists are changing by origin date.
- Monday, Sept. 28: 35 trains cancelled, 33 diverted, 9 short-terminated or short-originated, per East Central Railway’s Danapur plan.
- Work window: Sept. 20 through Oct. 4, 2026, on various dates, per Samastipur Division.
- Place: Rajendra Pul over the Ganga between Mokama and Barauni, plus Hathidah, Tal, Rampur Dumra, and Simaria.
- Why: Non-interlocking work to join a new parallel double-line rail bridge to the existing network.
- Next step: Recheck PNR status, NTES, and the originating station list the night before travel. Lists change by date.
Monday’s 35 Cancellations on East Central Railway
The Sept. 28 cancellation table that East Central Railway supplied to The Indian Express is a date-of-origin list. Trains scheduled to start on Monday from Howrah, Jaynagar, Sitamarhi, Sealdah, Saharsa, Patna, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, Kolkata Terminal, Ghazipur City, Mokama, Kiul, Banaras, Ara, and Patliputra sit on that sheet. Several counterpart trains due to originate on Sunday, Sept. 27, also appear as cancelled for passengers still on those rakes.
Named Monday cancellations include 13029 Howrah-Mokama Express and 13030 Mokama-Howrah Express, 13031 Howrah-Jaynagar Express and 13032 Jaynagar-Howrah Express, 13185 and 13186 Ganga Sagar Express between Sealdah and Jaynagar, 13156 Mithilanchal Express from Sitamarhi to Kolkata Terminal, 13227 and 13228 Saharsa-Rajendra Nagar Intercity, 13416 Patna-Malda Town Express, and 13419 and 13420 Jansewa Express between Bhagalpur and Muzaffarpur.
The same table also drops 15233 Kolkata Terminal-Darbhanga Express, 15527 Jaynagar-Patna Express and 15528 Patna-Jaynagar Express, 15079 Patliputra-Gorakhpur Express and 15080 Gorakhpur-Patliputra Express, plus MEMU turns 63204 Mokama-Kiul, 63275 Kiul-Patna, 63276 Patna-Kiul, 63230 Banaras-Ara, and 63229 Ara-Banaras. If your PNR matches one of those numbers and a Sept. 28 origin, do not wait at the platform for a late start.
Diverted Long-Distance Trains Including Vande Bharat
Diversion is a different problem from cancellation. The train still runs, but it skips the Rajendra Pul corridor and adds time. The Indian Express, citing East Central Railway, listed Howrah-New Delhi Poorva Express, Amritsar-Howrah Mail, Howrah-Kathgodam Bagh Express, Howrah-Dehradun Kumbha Express, Patna-Jasidih Express, New Jalpaiguri-Ara Capital Express, Sambalpur-Gorakhpur Maurya Express, and Hatia-Patna Patliputra Express among Monday diversions.
Both New Jalpaiguri-Patna Vande Bharat Express and Patna-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express are on that diverted list. Travelers who booked the fast pair as a same-day connection into Patna Junction or onward into the Northeast can miss a flight, a hotel check-in, or a second train even when the ticket still shows confirmed.
East Central Railway’s CPRO, Saraswati Chandra, told The Indian Express the trains were regulated (cancelled, diverted, or short-originated and short-terminated) because of scheduled railway work at Rajendra Pul. The agency is not calling this weather or a sudden breakdown. It is a planned signaling and track-connection block, which is why the lists are dated and why they will look different on Sept. 29 than they did on Sept. 28.
Rajendra Pul Bridge Work Through Oct. 4
Rajendra Bridge is the 1.9-kilometer rail-and-road crossing over the Ganga between Mokama and Barauni. It has carried traffic since 1959. Chandra told The Indian Express the existing structure holds only a single railway line and cannot be doubled for technical reasons, so Indian Railways approved a parallel double-line bridge in the 2015-16 Rail Budget at an estimated Rs 1,491.47 crore.
The new span is meant to join the network at Upper Hathidah Junction, Tal Junction, Rampur Dumra, Dinkar Gram Simaria, and Barauni Junction. Non-interlocking work is the cutover of track circuits, points, and signals, so trains cannot use the normal path. That is why Danapur Division is issuing a fresh train plan instead of the published public timetable.
Samastipur Division’s Sept. 21 notice is the official window: Sept. 20 through Oct. 4, 2026, with changes on various dates, not a single shutdown of every Bihar train for 15 days. Some trains are cancelled for the whole stretch. Others are cancelled only on listed origin dates. Others keep running on a changed route. Read the date column on the railway sheet before you treat a social-media screenshot as your train.
Daily Ticket Rechecks Before a Bihar Journey
A confirmed e-ticket is not a running train during a non-interlocking block. Open the PNR on IRCTC or the NTES app the night before, then again on the morning of travel. If the status flips to cancelled, use the railway refund path for that PNR rather than buying a second ticket first. If it shows diverted, note the via stations and the new arrival.
Short-terminated trains can dump you at Kiul, Barauni, Patna, or Mokama instead of Jaynagar or Howrah. Keep a buffer before any flight out of Jay Prakash Narayan International Airport in Patna. Long-distance travelers from Delhi, Howrah, Amritsar, or New Jalpaiguri should check the train number, not the brand on the coach. Monday’s diverted list already includes Poorva Express, the Howrah Mail, Bagh Express, Kumbha Express, and both Patna-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat trains.
Alternate Paths Around Mokama and Barauni
When a train is diverted, East Central Railway is sending some Howrah-Delhi and Howrah-Punjab services via Kiul, Sheikhpura, Bihar Sharif, and Bakhtiyarpur instead of the Rajendra Pul line. Intermediate stations on the usual Mokama-Barauni alignment may not see that train at all. If your ticket is to Mokama, Hathidah, or Simaria, a diversion can skip you even when the train still exists on the map.
Road can cover the Ganga crossing, but it does not restore a cancelled Howrah-Jaynagar overnight. For Patna-centered trips, buses and cabs can finish a short-terminated ride from Kiul or Barauni if you build hours, not minutes. Screenshot the official train number, origin date, and action before you leave. Tuesday’s sheet will not match Monday’s 35-and-33 counts.
| If you… | What to do |
|---|---|
| Hold a Sept. 28 origin on a numbered cancellation (13029, 13031, 13185, 13419, 15527) | Skip the station. File the railway refund on that PNR, then rebook a later origin date that is not cancelled. |
| Hold Poorva, Howrah Mail, Bagh, Kumbha, or a Patna Vande Bharat on Sept. 28 | Expect a diverted path and a later arrival. Recheck NTES and protect any flight or hotel that cannot slip. |
| Need Mokama, Hathidah, Simaria, or Barauni as a stop | A diverted train may skip you. Confirm the stop list or use road for that segment. |
| Travel between Sept. 29 and Oct. 4 | Pull the next day’s East Central Railway list. Do not reuse Monday’s 35-train sheet. |
Sept. 28 is today’s operating list. 35 cancellations, 33 diversions, and 9 short starts or ends are the East Central Railway counts for that origin date, including both Patna-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat trains on the diverted side.
Oct. 4 is the posted end of the Samastipur Division window. Pre-NI and NI work is scheduled through that date on various days. Do not assume Oct. 5 is automatically normal until the division says the cutover is finished.
Each origin date is its own list. A train cancelled on Monday can run on Tuesday, or the reverse. Recheck the number and the origin date the night before you leave.
How many Bihar trains are cancelled on Sept. 28?
East Central Railway’s Danapur plan, as published by The Indian Express, lists 35 cancellations, 33 diversions, and 9 short-terminated or short-originated trains for Sept. 28 origin dates tied to Rajendra Pul work.
Until when does Rajendra Pul rail work last?
Samastipur Division of East Central Railway posted a window from Sept. 20 through Oct. 4, 2026, with cancellations, diversions, and short starts or ends on various dates in that span.
Is the Patna-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat cancelled?
No. Both New Jalpaiguri-Patna and Patna-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express trains are on East Central Railway’s Sept. 28 diverted list, so they are scheduled to run on a changed route, not to sit in the yard.
Why is Rajendra Pul blocking trains?
Crews are connecting a new parallel double-line rail bridge to the network at Hathidah, Tal, Rampur Dumra, Simaria, and Barauni because the 1959 Rajendra Bridge can carry only a single railway line.
Will my confirmed IRCTC ticket still get me to Mokama?
Only if that train is running and still stopping there. A diverted service can skip Mokama, Hathidah, or Simaria. Check the stop list for your train number and origin date before you leave home.
What should I do if my train is on the cancelled list?
Stay off the platform for that origin date, use the railway refund path on the same PNR, and rebook only after you confirm a later origin date that East Central Railway has not cancelled.
