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Railway authorities on Monday either cancelled or diverted several trains and beefed up security in Jharkhand's Dhanbad District due to a 48-hour shutdown call given by Maoists. The Maoists have called for a 48-hour shutdown in three states--West Bengal, Orissa and Jharkhand demanding release of six Maoists who were arrested earlier. Anand Sagar Upadhyay, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) said that Palamau Express, Ranchi-New Delhi Garibrath and several other trains were cancelled. He also said personnel of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and state police have been deployed at all important stations. "The railways in coordination with the state government have deployed personnel of railway protection force (RPF) and state police officials at all our important stations," Upadhyaya said. "In view of the security threat, some trains have been cancelled, including the Palamau Express and the Ranchi Garibrath train, and some goods trains have been cancelled, and some have been diverted," he added. In the wake of shutdown call, the Railways had decided to restrict speed of all Rajdhani express trains moving in these areas, besides cancelling and diverting some other trains. During these period, all the Rajdhani express trains passing through Bihar and Jharkhand will run at a restricted speed of 75 kilometers per hour (Kmph) during night hours instead of their original speed of 110-120 kmph.

Rail traffic affected in three states due to Maoists shutdown call