QUETTA, Jan 27: A powerful bomb blew up a railway track near the Mushkaf Railway Sation, about 85 kilometres from here, on Thursday, delaying all trains to and from Quetta, official sources said.

The blast damaged the train track and created a three-foot crater in the ground, the sources said. The latest attack came a day after the military authorities announced a plan to set up a cantonment in the area to protect gas installations.

The railway authorities had earlier stopped all train movement at night in the Balochistan province after a blast blew up a railway bridge late Monday. The same line had been hit by an explosion on Saturday.

The Pakistan Railways announced it would introduce pilot engines and motor trolleys in all passenger and goods trains running across the province to ensure safety of passengers and goods.

The bomb, planted at the main railway line, blew up tracks at 6.20am. Pakistan Railways Divisional Superintendent of Quetta Ali Hassan Toori told Dawn that the damaged portion of the railway line had been repaired and all down and up passenger and goods trains were running on schedule.

He said some terrorists first opened indiscriminate fire to create panic and harassment in the area and then exploded the bomb. He further stated that 3 up Bolan Mail was on its way but it had been stopped at the Mushkaf Railway station till the completion of repair work, and asserted that all security measures had been taken for safety of all passenger and goods trains at the Quetta-Sibi section.

Mr Toori further said that federal and provincial government security forces and railway police had been deployed at all important bridges and tunnels to protect train tracks and to ensure a safe train travel in the province.

In a related development, a rocket landed near an electrical grid station in Sibbi, about 150 kilometres from Quetta late Wednesday, but there was no damage, AFP adds. Local residents said they heard three blasts, but it could not be confirmed.