Power crisis: 42 trains cancelled to allow coal movement

As many as 34 trains have been cancelled by the South East Central Railway (SECR) division, while eight have been cancelled by the Northern Railways (NR).

At least 42 trains have been cancelled so far to allow for faster movement of coal carriages in the wake of a power crisis in various parts of the country, officials in the railway ministry said on Friday.

The train cancellations in the wake of the power crisis are likely to cause inconvenience to people travelling to and from coal producing states such as Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand. (HT file photo)

The cancellations are likely to cause inconvenience to people travelling to and from coal producing states such as Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.

While the South East Central Railway (SECR) division that covers the coal producing regions has cancelled 34 passenger trains, the Northern Railways (NR), the division that receives coal for many power stations in the north, has cancelled eight.

The SECR has so far cancelled 22 mail/express trains and 12 passenger trains. It has cancelled a few passenger trains till May 24. The Bilaspur-Bhopal passenger train, which was suspended on March 28, will remain off tracks till May 3.

The Mainline Electric Multiple Unit (MEMU) train (electric multiple unit trains that serve short and medium-distance routes in India) running between Gondia junction to Jharsuguda junction railway station has been cancelled from April 24 to May 23. The MEMU passenger special between Dongargarh railway station in Chhattisgarh and Raipur too has been cancelled from April 11 to May 24.

The Northern Railways has cancelled four mail or express trains and four passenger trains.

“The Railways has cancelled 753 trips, 363 of mail/express trains and 390 of passenger trains in the SCER and NR railway zones,” a railways spokesperson said, wishing not to be named.

According to the Central Electricity Authority’s (CEA)’s daily coal stock report, 56 of 165 thermal power stations are left with 10 per cent or less coal, and at least 26 have less than five per cent stock left.

Following the cancellations, the railways has raised the average daily loading of coal rakes to around 405 a day, the highest in the past five years, officials said.

“The railways has deployed 533 rakes for coal duty daily with as many as 427 rakes loaded on Thursday, carrying a total of 1.62 million tonnes of coal. Last year, we had put 374 rakes in service,” the spokesperson cited above said.

“Cancellation of trains that are mostly used by students or the ones like Hatia-Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Superfast Express to Mumbai, that is majorly used by cancer patients who book their train tickets well in advance, is a cause of worry and is a big blow to passengers,” a railways official said on condition of anonymity.