Shatabdi, Unchahar Express tardy run continues amid bad weather
Foggy weather once again disrupted rail services with the New Delhi-Kalka Shatabdi arriving here late by over five hours today and the Unchahar Express running over 13 hours behind schedule.
The Shatabdi, which is typically a symbol of punctuality, departed New Delhi at 12 noon, instead of its scheduled departure of 7:40 am, and reached here at 4:04 pm, well past its usual arrival time of 10:59 am. The Kalka-New Delhi Shatabdi was also delayed, leaving Kalka 31 minutes late at 6:16 pm and reaching Chandigarh 33 minutes behind schedule.
The Unchahar Express, departing from Prayagraj, was supposed to leave at 2 pm on Friday but started its journey at 10:40 pm instead. Originally scheduled to arrive here at 9:15 am, the train is now expected at 11:03 pm. This comes after two consecutive journeys with major delays, including a nine-hour late departure on Wednesday when it arrived at Chandigarh in the early hours of Friday, nearly two days late. Its subsequent journey was no different, as it reached Chandigarh on Friday over seven hours behind schedule.
Passengers expressed their dissatisfaction with the delays. Ramesh Mehta, stepping off the Shatabdi, shared, “Delays like this are unusual for the Shatabdi. It’s frustrating when you rely on this train for important commitments.” Another passenger, Kavita Sharma, said, “We know fog is unavoidable, but better management could help mitigate the impact.”
For Unchahar’s regular passengers, repeated delays are now a persistent challenge. As winter weather continues to affect operations, passengers are calling on Indian Railways to address recurring delays and improve their contingency planning to ensure more predictable service, even during challenging conditions.
