E-Paper
Cancellation of major trains irk commuters
Anticipating foggy weather ahead, the railways have cancelled two major trains for Delhi from December 31 to February 15 much to the inconvenience to passengers.
Anticipating foggy weather ahead, the railways have cancelled two major trains for Delhi from December 31 to February 15 much to the inconvenience to passengers.
As per the new arrangement, Ludhiana-New Delhi Shatabdi Express (12038), daily, and Amritsar-Ajmer Express (via Dhuri) will be cancelled from December 31 and January 1, respectively.
However, other trains to Delhi — Bikaner-Delhi Sarai Rohilla Express (12456) via Shri Ganganagar, daily; Dhauladhar Express (14036) on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday; and Jammu Tawi-Jabalpur (Durgavati) Express (11450) on Monday and Thursday — will run as per their schedule.
However, passengers boarding trains for Delhi from here are not happy with the announcement of cancellation, as most of the running trains arrive here at odd hours — Bikaner-Delhi Sarai Rohilla Express arrives at 2.59am, while Dhauladhar Express arrives at 4.13am.
Sangrur station master Sohan Lal said, “The two trains have been cancelled from Dec ember 31 and January 1 to 15 February, in view of foggy weather in the region, whereas other trains to Delhi will be operational,” he added.
Even as the railways authorities are concerned with the dense fog in the region and announce cancellation of the trains, daily commuters here are not happy with the development.
“For the first time that the railways have cancelled Shatabdi, we fear the railway authorities want to cancel it from Sangrur forever,” said a Longowal-based doctor Aman Aggarwal, who frequently visits Delhi.
Traders are also very disappointed by the announcement, saying it will affect their business. “Delhi is an important destination for Sangrur businessmen and four-five times a week we travel to Delhi. Now, it will be difficult for commuters to catch a train as early as at 3am,” said Sukhveer Singh, a Sangrur-based trader.
“The decision to cancel important trains will also affect our business as most of the labourers come here via Delhi. Now it will be difficult for migrant labourers to reach here in time”, said another passenger Naresh Kumar.
