Late on Tuesday night, they had tried to derail the Bhubaneswar-bound Purshottam Express by removing clips from 400 meters of tracks between Gidhni and Jhargram, said senior police officers.

Fortunately, one of the patrolling parties of the Railway Police Force (RPF) spotted them tampering with the tracks.

A senior official of the South Eastern Railway said the New Delhi-Bhubaneswar Purushottam Express had reached Gidhni at 1.14 am. It was scheduled to pass through Jhargram station within minutes, when two patrolmen — K Mahato and Panchu Ram Patro — spotted some people tampering with the tracks.

“They informed the Gidhni station authorities. The train driver was informed and it was halted. Train services on both Up and Down tracks were stopped,” said a railways spokesperson. By the time the RPF officials rushed to the spot, the miscreants had fled.

Purushottam Express would have been the first to pass through.

Train services on the Tatanagar-Howrah route, consequently, were disrupted for several hours.

Services were resumed after a thorough sweeping of the area and completion of the repair work. At least 14 trains were delayed due to the incident.

With Maoists having declared a bandh in the area and trains getting held up in the past, the area has witnessed increased vigilance, the police said.