‘We came all the way from Palghar’: Passengers stranded at Mumbai stations as Delhi-bound trains cancelled

Passengers at CSMT and Bandra Terminus said they were caught off guard, with some reporting they had not received cancellation messages.

Anger and frustration spilled over at two of Mumbai’s rail terminuses on Friday as the Western and Central railways cancelled and rescheduled four trains to Delhi ahead of a massive youth protest in the national capital on Sunday.

The cancelled services were the 22221 CSMT–Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express, the only Rajdhani service from Mumbai operated by the Central Railway, and the 12247 Bandra Terminus–Hazrat Nizamuddin Express operated by the Western Railway. (Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

Passengers at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and the Bandra Terminus were left high and dry, having arrived with their luggage, only to discover their travel plans disrupted at short notice. Both the cancelled trains were to depart from these terminuses.

A 50-year-old, who had travelled from Mira Road to CSMT, was to take the 22221 CSMT Rajdhani to Delhi, to attend to a family emergency. He said he had not received the cancellation SMS from the Central Railway “My niece had booked my ticket, so I didn’t get the SMS. I had to reach Delhi tomorrow due to a family emergency, but now even flights will be expensive,” he said.

The disruption also caught a senior citizen couple off-guard at CSMT. The two were seen rushing in an electric cart with their luggage from one platform to another when the cancellation became a talking point. “We were to take the 22221 CSMT Rajdhani to Delhi and now our plans are a mess. It is absurd to cancel trains due to a protest,” said one of them.

The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) has announced a massive youth-led agitation in the national capital against the Election Commission of India on Sunday, with the central government implementing various measures to prevent protestors from pouring into the city. Interestingly, the railways have cited concerns over “severe traffic congestion in Delhi” as the reason for cancelling services to the capital.

At the Bandra Terminus, two friends who had travelled from Palghar, to combine a sightseeing trip to Delhi with the experience of witnessing a major protest, were sorely disappointed. “We came all the way from Palghar in a local train only to find that 12247 Bandra Terminus–Hazrat Nizamuddin Express to Delhi has been cancelled,” said Harshal Lokhande, 40. “Now, we’ll have to head back home.”

Lokhande was accompanied by Bhagwan Lahange, 36. They had bought tatkal tickets for the journey and had not received any message about the cancellation. “We hope to make it to Delhi next week, depending on how things pan out,” said Lahange.

The cancelled services were the 22221 CSMT–Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express, the only Rajdhani service from Mumbai operated by the Central Railway, and the 12247 Bandra Terminus–Hazrat Nizamuddin Express operated by the Western Railway.

Two Rajdhani trains were also rescheduled by five hours each. The Mumbai Central–New Delhi Rajdhani Express (12951), scheduled to reach New Delhi at 8.32am on Saturday, and the Mumbai Central–Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express (12953), due to arrive at 9.43am, were among the trains impacted.

Railway officials said each of these trains typically carries around 1,500 to 2,000 passengers. Station staff claimed that sending timely SMS messages had limited the number of stranded passengers at the terminuses.