Ranchi, Oct 3  Maoist guerrillas blew up a railway track at the Jharkhand-West Bengal border Saturday to press their call for a nationwide strike. Rail services on the Kolkata-Mumbai route have been affected, police said.

The rebels blew up the railway track near Maharesal railway station under Chakradhapur railway division around 4.30 a. m. The railway station is in Jharkhand's West Singhbhum district, about 300 km from state capital Ranchi.

A police officer said railway workers have started to repair the track. Services of some of trains including the Rajdhani Express have been affected.

Maoist have called a nationwide strike to protest the arrests of senior leaders Kobad Ghandy and Chhatradhar Mahato. They have demanded the release of the leaders.

Maoist guerrillas are active in 18 of the 24 districts of Jharkhand. An estimated 1,550 people have been killed in the state in Maoist-related violence in the last eight years. (IANS)