The Ranchi-Jaynagar Express, which was suspended after the June 15 closure of the Dhanbad-Chandrapura rail link because of underground fire in Jharia, is likely to resume operations within a week.

"I received a message from Railway Board chairman Ashwani Lohani today that the train, the only one which connects the state capital with various towns of Mithilanchal region of neighbouring Bihar, will start rolling within seven days," BJP's Godda MP Nishikant Dubey said on Monday.

Dubey, who was in the city to attend a programme organised by social outfit Jharkhand Maithili Manch, one of the many organisations that was spearheading a movement for the resumption of the train services, said he had sent text messages to railway minister Piyush Goyal and Lohani requesting them to update him about the service.

Manch president Arun Kumar Jha, councillor of Ward 37 said, "More than 7 lakh people from north Bihar's Mithila region settled in Jharkhand were facing problems after services were suspended. Dubey was aware of our demand. Today, Lohani confirmed Dubey that services were being resumed."

Ranchi-Jaynagar Express was one of 19 trains that had been suspended after the 34km Dhanbad-Chandrapura rail line was shut down. However, in the last three months, 12 trains have started running through various routes.

However, a senior official of Hatia rail division said they were receive a notification from the ministry. "Now that the board chairman has confirmed, services will start soon. But routes and timings have to be chalked out. The train can be diverted through Asansol and Gomo or we can use the Munger and Jamalpur route as we did for the Secunderabad-Darbhanga Express which is being run as a special train," the official said.

But the news has come as a welcome relief for people who were cut-off from their native home in Bihar. "Women, children, senior citizens and patients were the worst suffers. One can understand the importance of this train from the fact that it always remained overcrowded," said Nisha Jha, a homemaker and resident of Harmu, said.

Last month, over a dozen members of the Jharkhand Mithila Manch, another outfit in the forefront of the agitation demanding immediate resumption of the train services, staged a protest in the city during the inauguration of four railway projects in Jharkhand by then railway minister Suresh Prabhu through video-conferencing from New Delhi.

"We hope this is not going to be a false promise," said Santosh Kumar Jha, general secretary of Jharkhand Mithila Manch.

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Mahesh Poddar, who also lobbied for the resumption of the services, welcomed the decision. "Ranchi-Jaynagar Express is a lifeline for people of Jharkhand and Mithila. Cancellation of the train had affected passengers from at least 20 districts of the state and Bihar. The problem became worse because of absence of proper bus services," he said.