Train delay leaves passengers high and dry

Renu,a daily passenger travelling between Ludhiana and Alamgir which is a journey of even less than half an hour,says she has to wait for hours on end sometimes as the train does not budge from the Ludhiana station for one reason or the other.

“I am fed up with the delays now. I travel to Alamgir which is just 20 minutes away from here but now I have to wait for two and half hours,” adds Renu. In yet another similar situation,the train schedule to depart from the station at 1.50 pm was delayed till 4.30 due to repair work going on the track as per the rail officials.

The passengers of the nearby stations requested the station superintendent today to allow the train to initiate the journey and halt at the Malerkotla station or any station before the site of maintenance work so that the passengers who have to get off before that can at least be saved from unnecessary wait.

“We buy the ticket to become sufferers in almost every journey. Sometimes there are rail blocks en route or sometimes the train is delayed as it waits for a guard to finish his duty on another train and then join 6 LJH,”a daily passenger who took up the matter with the Station superintendent,rued.

He complained that the departure time of the train is delayed by about two to three hours without any prior announcement sending the passengers into a tizzy. “Just like the prior announcements made by the electricity board,in case some maintenance work is to be carried out in a particular are,the railways can inform the passengers beforehand by giving out the information in the newspapers so that they are not forced to wait in the unbearable heat.”

“Moreover,no provision of water was there and even the fans were not working as the engine had not been attached to the coaches,” rued another daily passengers of the train. He said that the Dadar Express had come from the same track but 6LJH train was halted because it was not considered important by the railways and therefore subjected to unnecessary delays.

Talking about today’s delay in the departure of the train,Station Superintendent RK Sharma told the annoyed passengers who complained about it to him that though he considered it to be a genuine problem,yet he could not do much as the area where the block was made fell under the jurisdiction of the Ambala Division. Sharma also spoke to the officials of the Ambala division to allow the train to proceed to the station till which the track was open for traffic movement but to no avail.

More delay
The repair work of the signal system at Jalandhar,which was damaged by the protesting mob of Dera Sachkhand followers,may take 15 more days,Station superintendent RK Sharma said.