QUETTA, April 19: The railway link between the provincial metropolis and rest of the country was cut off after the main railway track was blown up here late Thursday night using a homemade explosive device.

Police said that saboteurs had targeted the track behind the Degree College near Musa Colony.

A two-foot-long piece of the railway track was destroyed in the blast, the police official said. Railway authorities said that all Quetta-bound trains originating from Karcahi, Rawalpindi and Lahore would be stopped at Sibi and other stations until the damaged railway track was repaired.

Railway authorities said that the rail link between Quetta and rest of the country was likely to he restored by Friday morning.