Looking back 2024: Passengers faced trouble due to railway station upgrade work

Throughout the year, rail passengers have been facing inconvenience as construction material is lying scattered on platforms and other places around the Ludhiana railway station due to the ongoing construction work. City residents are expected to get a revamped railway station in the coming year. There are also chances that the Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF), which are facing shortage of force, will also get additional force in the next year.

HIGHS

Upgrade work in advanced stage of completion

With the work on several components almost complete and the finishing job in progress, the redevelopment and upgrade of the railway station at a cost of Rs 528.95 crore is in the advanced stage of completion, the Northern Railway (NR) has said. The work on the big ticket central project has gained further steam as the architectural design for the new-look junction has already been approved, the geotechnical investigation, survey and relocation of existing structures have already been completed. The project, which was awarded at engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode to a local firm on December 19 last, has been targeted to be completed by August 2, 2025.

State-of-the-art facilities for employees

Senior Divisional Commercial Manager (DCM), Northern Railway, Ferozepur, Paramdeep Singh Saini had visited the railway station to apprise employees of the upgraded state-of-the-art facilities being offered to loco pilots and railway guards. He also talked about further upgrade of facilities in the near future so that the employees have the best time to relax after tough duty hours and could prepare themselves for fresh shifts.

Vande Bharat train halt

The residents also got the gift of Vande Bharat train, which runs from Delhi to Katra. The train has a stoppage at the city railway station.

LOWS

Jammu youth thrown out of moving train

A 23-year-old Jammu-based youth, Tushar Thakur, an Army aspirant, who was on the way to Ahmedabad from Jammu to appear in an interview after clearing the SSB exam on May 19, was pushed off the moving train by three miscreants. His only fault was he objected to smoking by three youths inside the train, following which arguments occurred and they threw the victim out of the moving train. Tushar’s lower limbs were paralysed due to serious injuries. His spine also suffered a critical injury.

No headway in child theft case

The Government Railway Police have failed to trace the seven-month-old girl child who was stolen from the city railway station on the night of June 30. The police got a clue that a woman had committed the crime and even a CCTV footage had also been recovered by the police from the railway station which showed the suspect taking the child out of the station. Though Rs 1 lakh cash reward had also recently been announced by the GRP for providing any information about the woman, the police have failed to get any clue in the case.

Stone-pelting incident

In a late night incident on September 5, some mischievous elements pelted stones at Sutlej Express at Baddowal, around 12 km from the Ludhiana railway station. The incident rendered serious head injuries to a four-year-old child, Prince, who was travelling with his parents. He was initially taken to the Civil Hospital, Ludhiana, from where he was referred to the PGI, Chandigarh. A few other passengers also reportedly suffered minor injuries in the incident. Earlier also, similar incidents took place but the rail authorities have failed to trace suspects in such cases.

Protest against Centre’s Agnipath scheme

On June 18, protest against the Centre’s Agnipath scheme took a violent turn when over 36 masked youths carrying sticks and iron rods vandalised the railway station. They smashed windowpanes at the main entrance of the station and broke LED signboards. The protesters also smashed windowpanes of a train stationed on the platform. The GRP initially failed to control the mob due to shortage of force. Initially, the protesters held a protest at Bharat Nagar Chowk. Later, they marched towards Durga Mata Temple Chowk where they damaged a PCR vehicle. Soon, an alert was sounded but a few police personnel present at a naka could not stop the protesters, who then entered the railway station.