Koraput: Train traffic on the Kottavalasa-Koraput-Kirandul line resumed on Monday after remaining disrupted for more than two months.

The route had been closed since October 6, after rocks from a nearby waterfall fell on the pier No. 1 of bridge No. 249 between Borraguhalu and Chimidipalli railway stations.

"The trial run with a tower wagon was conducted on December 8. Regular traffic resumed on the tracks on Monday as the damaged bridge has been rebuilt," said Jeypore rail station manager L.N. Das.

The bridge, which was damaged, lies at a distance of about 90km from Vishakapatnam and 120km from Koraput district headquarters town.

"The bridge was reconstructed within 58 days with a budget of Rs 7 crore. Around 400 labourers had been engaged and sophisticated equipment were used to get the job done," said the East Coast Railway's chief public relation officer Jyoti Prakash Mishra. "A pier was built in place of the damaged one."

Constructed in the 1960s, the 445-km-long line passes through the dense forest of the Eastern Ghats, piercing 58 tunnels and leapfrogs over at least 84 bridges.

The route serves as a lifeline for the Vishakapatnam Steel Plant and other industries, which depend on it for iron ore supply from the Biladila mines in Chhattisgarh.