Amenities missing at Kharar rly station

Shashi Pal Jain

Kharar, August 11

Rail passengers in the town are facing an irony of sorts. At the local railway station, there are huge shelters, but no commuters due to the absence of trains.

This correspondent visited the railway station today and found it literally abandoned. There are only two trains — one going to Ambala and another to Amb in HP, which halt here. About 12 important trains pass through Kharar but do not halt. For the two trains, there were around 100 passengers. The station looks like an abandoned building. There are no canteen, police post, reservation counter and facilities to book goods. Only six persons run the show here.

At night, it looks like a deserted place. The station was constructed in 2006. Thousands of migrants staying in the town and nearby areas have to go to Ambala or Sirhind to catch UP or Bihar-bound trains.

Inder Singh, the station master, said the decision regarding halting trains was taken by the higher authorities. He suggested that there should be a link bus service from the local bus stand to the railway station for passengers to make use of the services of the existing two trains.

At present, the town has a population of over one lakh. It has many colleges and universities. The railways can become an important means to further enhance the growth prospects of the town if more trains are made to halt here.

Migrants a harried lot

At night, the Kharar railway station looks like a deserted place. The station was constructed in 2006. Thousands of migrants staying in the town and nearby areas have to go to Ambala or Sirhind to catch UP or Bihar-bound trains.