Congestion at Indore railway station leading to delays

Availability of only 3 broad gauge platforms at Indore station is causing frequent delays for trains on Delhi-Indore route. Recently, Malwa Express was halted on the outskirts of Indore as all 3 platforms were occupied.

Availability of only three broad gauge platforms at the Indore railway station is causing frequent delays for trains on Delhi-Indore route.

Western Railway sources say that the Jammu Tawi-Indore Malwa Express, which comes via New Delhi, is frequently halted on the outskirts of Indore due to non-availability of space at the Indore railway station.

On Thursday, Malwa Express was halted on the outskirts of the city for nearly one hour as all the three platforms were occupied by trains that were about to depart from the city.

The train, which is scheduled to arrive at 12.50pm, arrived at 4.30 pm. While it was already delayed by more than two hours, the train was also halted at the Laxmi Bai Nagar station on the outskirts due to non-availability of space at the Indore railway station.

"The problem will be solved to some extent after gauge conversion work is over," a railway official said.

The meter gauge track on platform number one is scheduled to be converted to broad gauge track as part of broad gauge conversion work between Indore and Akola.

Also, a modern station complex and two new platforms are being developed by the Western Railway close to Rajkumar railway over-bridge.

The new platforms will have the capacity to handle 26 coaches. However, another meter gauge track at the Indore railway station will not be of much use even after gauge conversion work as it is not connected to the over-bridge.

The Western Railway is also working on ensuring timely departures of trains as even a small delay results in delayed arrival of other trains.

Another problem is over crowding of trains by students from other states, who forcibly enter the reserved compartments and then are chased away by railway police, cause delay in the departure.