Foggy weather derails Shatabdi schedule

Commuters travelling between Chandigarh and Delhi were a harried lot as dense fog disrupted the schedule of both the New Delhi-Kalka Shatabdi and Kalka-New Delhi Shatabdi today.

The 12011 Shatabdi, which was supposed to leave New Delhi at 7:40 am, was rescheduled to 3 pm, only to depart at 4:49 pm. It arrived here at 8 pm, late by nine hours. The 12012 Kalka-New Delhi Shatabdi, originally set to depart from Kalka at 5:45 pm and reach Chandigarh at 6:23 pm, was first delayed to 8 pm, and then to 9:30 pm.

“I was hoping to make it to Delhi by the evening, but now I’m not sure when I’ll get there,” said Ravinder Singh, who was waiting to board the delayed Kalka-New Delhi Shatabdi.

The delay caused a domino effect for passengers traveling in the opposite direction. “I had to attend an important function in Chandigarh that I missed. Nine hours of delay is unacceptable. Today was just about endless waiting,” said Renuka, who arrived here by New Delhi-Kalka Shatabdi, which was late by nine hours.

The schedule of other trains was also hit by the fog. The 12926 Paschim Superfast Express reached here 35 minutes late, while the 22448 Amb Andaura-New Delhi Vande Bharat arrived 2 hours and 25 minutes behind schedule. The 12925 Paschim Superfast Express was delayed by over four hours, and the 20977 Ajmer-Chandigarh Vande Bharat by 40 minutes.

A station official said, “The fog is affecting rail services across the region. While we’re doing our best to manage the service, delays are inevitable under such conditions.”

As fog continues to blanket the region, passengers are calling for better communication and updates during such disruptions, hoping for improved management of train services in the future.