Commuters suffer as trains arrive late

Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, November 23

Passengers are at a receiving end at the city railway station these days.

Thanks to regular delay of trains due to fog and overcrowded general bogies during the festival season.

Ironically, the railway authorities have no action plan to accommodate migrant passengers, who often spend hours at the platforms during extreme weather conditions.

A large number of industrial labourers, who reside in the city, often visit their native villages during this time. Most of them do not even have internet facility to confirm the change in train arrival timings.

A majority of them are not even aware of the inquiry numbers of the railways and hesitate to talk to inquiry attendants.

They often come a few hours before the arrival of the train concerned and get information from the inquiry window about its delay. Migrant passengers have to stay for hours on platforms to wait for their trains.

The railway authorities do not show courtesy for these migrants, who sit and sleep on platforms. The number of benches and space is insufficient to tackle the number of passengers.

During the winter season, trains often arrive late due to fog in the north region. Passengers have to wait for 4 to 12 hours for their respective trains.

“The migrant workers face inconvenience while waiting for their trains in extreme weather conditions at the platforms. The government can’t run trains on scheduled time due to inclement weather, but the railway authorities should provide an accommodation for such passengers, where they can at least rest. A separate hall can be constructed to accommodate migrant workers,” a railway official said.

Ashutosh Pant, Additional Railway Divisional Manager (ARDM) Ferozepur, said: “We don’t have any proposal so far but we can make arrangements to address the issue.”