Several trains diverted after accident near Fatehgarh Sahib, passengers irked

Amritsar, June 2

Passengers of several trains originating and concluding at the city railway station were a harassed lot after a train accident near Fatehgarh Sahib hit the rail traffic on the crucial Amritsar-Delhi route.

Amritsar-New Delhi Shatabdi, which departs at 4.50 pm, was rescheduled to depart at 9 pm. Similarly, Shan-e-Punjab, which chugs out at 3:10 pm, was rescheduled to depart at 9:40 pm.

Besides, the Railways diverted at least 26 trains and rescheduled couple of others today. Prominent diverted trains were 15708 Amritsar-Katihar, 22488 Amritsar-Old Delhi, 12029 New Delhi-Amritsar Swarn Shatabdi, 12497 New Delhi-Amritsar, 20808 Amritsar-Vishakhapatnam, 14673 Jaynagar-Amritsar, 14617 Purnea Court- Amritsar, 12357 Kolkata-Amritsar, 04652 Amritsar-Jaynagar, 14674 Amritsar-Jaynagar, 22424 Amritsar-Gorakhpur, 1238 Amritsar-Sealdah, 22125 Nagpur-Amritsar, 12715 Sachkhand Express Nanded-Amritsar, 12459 New Delhi-Amritsar and 12053 Haridwar-Amritsar.

A passenger Rupesh Jain said travelling by train had become an ordeal for passengers. Earlier, farmers were laying siege on the rail track for the past nearly a month and now the accident disrupted the rail traffic and upset lives of commuters, besides adversely impacting businesses, he said.

He said a large number of traders travel to the National Capital Region to purchase merchandise for their stores. Diversion of trains only ballooned the travel time for passengers, he added.