57 trains from Mumbai to Gujarat cancelled due to 56-hour mega block in Surat

48 long-distance trains from Mumbai to Gujarat will be cancelled between August 26 and 28 due to a 56-hour mega block at Surat, affecting around 75,000 passengers.

Mumbai: At least 48 long-distance trains from Mumbai to Gujarat have been cancelled between August 26 and 28, around the festival of Raksha Bandhan, owing to a 56-hour mega block at Surat, an official from the railways said on Friday. He added that many trains would be short-terminated, and around 29 trains would be diverted on these two days.

HT Image

“A major block of 56 hours will be undertaken for carrying out the non-interlocking work at Surat Yard from 9.30am on August 26 to 5.30pm on August 28. This block is in connection with Surat–Udhna third line work. Due to this work, several Western Railway (WR) trains will remain cancelled, short terminated/short originated,” Sumit Thakur, chief PRO, WR, said.

According to railway officials, at least 75,000 passengers will be affected. Forty-four-year-old Pankaj Jain, a Mira Road resident, had planned a weeklong holiday from August 26. He along with his six family members were to leave Mumbai for his hometown in Ajmer on the Dadar-Ajmer Express.

“I had booked tickets more than two months ago. Now, I get a message that my train has been cancelled. Why cannot the railways inform at least a week in advance? I would have left sooner or made alternative arrangements. This was the first time in four years after the Covid-19 that the entire family was meeting for Raksha Bandhan festival,” Jain, a businessman, said.

He added that flight tickets are very expensive at ₹6,000 to ₹7,000 per passenger, while train tickets in 3AC amounted to less than ₹1,500 per passenger. “The road transport options are mostly till Ahmedabad from Mumbai, and from there, people going to Rajasthan usually take another bus or tourist cab,” Jain said.

Most cancelled trains head to or from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and other northern states. Nine long-distance trains were cancelled on Friday.