Farm stir: Threefold increase in railway traffic on Chandigarh-Sahnewal section

Tribune News Service

Nitish Sharma

Ambala, April 28

Due to the ongoing farmers’ agitation in the Ambala-Ludhiana section at Shambhu station of Ambala Division, Railways is forced to run almost three times the regular traffic on the Chandigarh-Sahnewal section.

While in routine, 30-40 trains were operated on the single line Chandigarh-Sahnewal section, nearly 100 trains, including freight trains, are being operated daily due to the agitation and subsequent diversion of trains.

A senior official in the division said, “All efforts are being made to run maximum trains, but due to track-related limitations, only about 100 trains are being operated in a day on the Chandigarh-Sahnewal section. There is pressure to run freight trains too so that supplies of essential goods like coal, petroleum, fertiliser, cement and foodgrains are not affected. If 100 trains are being operated, 20 are freight trains.”

“After festival rush, the summer rush is the peak time for the Railways to generate earnings but due to the current situation, train traffic is badly affected and a number of trains are getting cancelled and diverted,” he added.

To a query, the official said that since there was limited traffic on the Chandigarh-Sahnewal section earlier, the tracks were not doubled. Even the ongoing agitation is a temporary phase. Hence, there is no plan to raise any proposal to double the section.

Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Ambala Division, Mandeep Singh Bhatia said, “All efforts are being made to run the maximum trains. Along with the passenger trains, freight trains are also being pushed so that the supply of essential items is maintained. Constant efforts are being made to restore the cancelled trains.”

About 170 trains continue to be affected under the division. Raman Gupta, a railway passenger, said, “I had a reservation but my train got cancelled and now, we have to travel by bus. The farmers and the government should resolve the matter as only the people are facing inconvenience.”

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