Dense fog cover keeps railway passengers waiting for long

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, January 14

Dense fog cover seems to have thrown life out gear for the city residents, especially for passengers as the rail traffic has been adversely affected.

Many trains have been cancelled and others are running behind schedule.

An elderly passenger, Meenu, waiting for hours for her train to Delhi, said although many trains were late today, in winters even a few minutes wait is harrowing due to the extreme chill.

Sanjeev Kumar, who was going to Kanpur with relatives to attend a wedding, said they were waiting for the train from a long time. “We are worried as we have to catch another train from Delhi for Kanpur. If the train gets more late then we will miss the Kanpur train,” he said.

Another passenger Yoshita Kapur said most of the trains going to Delhi had been cancelled and only one train was plying, which was jam-packed.

She urged that the Railways should start additional coaches in the train to cater the rush.

The trains which have been affected due to weather conditions till February 28 include — train number 12455-12456 Delhi-Sarai Rohilla-Bikaner Express, 12481-82 Sriganganagar-Delhi Intercity Express, 12486-12485 Sriganganagar-Hazur Saheb Nanded Express, 14731-32 Delhi-Fazilka Express, 13007-13008 Udyan Abha Toofan Express, 14519-20 Kisan Express, 14888-87/24888-87 Barmer-Kalka Express, 15909-15910 Awadh Assam Express, 19023-19024 Mumbai Firozpur Janta Express, 19223-19224 Ahmedabad-Jammu Tawi Express and 19225-19226 Bathinda-Jammu Tawi Express.

Apart from partial termination or change in the schedule for the above mentioned trains, train number 19612-19611 Amritsar-Ajmer Express has been cancelled from January 8 to February 28.

A railway official said only long-route trains were running late. Besides, all the other trains up to Delhi were late to the most by an hour due to poor visibility.

While the Railway Department is counting its losses, private transporters are busy calculating their profits. Transporters are taking full advantage of the cancellation and delay in running of trains passing through Bathinda.