Demand for Udyan Abha Toofan Mail train’s return grows stronger

During the first visit of Vinod Bhatia, the newly appointed railway manager for Ambala Division, the Railway Passengers Sangharsh Samiti raised a strong demand for the resumption of the Udyan Abha Toofan Mail train.

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This crucial train service was suspended in 2020 due to the pandemic and has yet to be restored, despite numerous memorandums submitted by local organisations over the years.

The Udyan Abha Toofan Mail, originally launched in 1980 by then Lok Sabha Speaker Balram Jakhar, used to connect Sriganganagar to Delhi via Abohar, with an extension to Howrah in West Bengal.

Serving passengers across seven states, its suspension has left many travellers with no choice but to pay higher fares for buses. Rajesh Gupta, the president of the Samiti, alleged that a collaboration between railway officials and private bus operators was behind the continued suspension of the train service.

Further, the Samiti demanded the construction of a new rail line from Abohar to Sadulshehar, a 28 km stretch that would benefit passengers and traders from Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan.

In addition, the Samiti raised concerns over the underutilised rail link between Abohar and Fazilka, inaugurated in 2012 at a cost of Rs 400 crore, with only two trains running on the 42 km stretch. The group also recommended extending train services such as Train No. 14639-14640 from Ferozepur to Mohali via Fazilka and extending Train No. 14701-14702 from Mumbai Bandra to Ferozepur Cantt. Railway officials also inspected the electrified rail line between Abohar and Fatuhi station, which has yet to see any electric trains in operation.