Man misses key meeting in Delhi as train ‘diverted’, gets Rs 35,000 from Railways

Diversion message never reached him

The man’s counsel, Advocate S Divabhimanam, told the commission that the man had an appointment with the managing director of a company in New Delhi on September 30, 2024, and booked a sleeper berth under the Premium Tatkal scheme for Rs 1,428.15 on train number 12621. On reaching Chennai station on September 28, 2024, he was surprised to find “route diverted” displayed on the board, with no prior message or intimation of the change.

The counsel argued that the train, scheduled to reach New Delhi by 6.30 am on September 30, arrived only at 10.30 pm the same day, a delay of 16 hours. As a result, the man allegedly missed his business appointment as well as his return flight, and had to book a fresh, costlier flight ticket for the next day.

Railway cites signal safety work

Counsel for Southern Railway, Advocate K Srinivasa Rao, contended that the diversion was necessitated by pre-non-interlocking and non-interlocking works undertaken by South Central Railway for upgrading signal operations, which was crucial for the safe running of trains. Divisional Commercial Manager Manju Chandran, examined as a witness for the railway, submitted that a notification dated September 5, 2024 had announced the diversion of several trains, including the Tamil Nadu Superfast Express, and that diversion messages were sent to passengers boarding at Vijayawada, Khammam, Warangal, Balharshah and Nagpur. Since the man was to board the train at Chennai Central, no such message was sent to him.

The commission noted that the September 5 notification had specifically directed that all passengers of the affected trains be intimated through SMS, and that the railway had sufficient time between the notification and the date of travel to comply. It observed that the reasons for the delay were neither unexpected nor sudden, and that the railway’s own explanation about intimating only passengers boarding at diversion-route stations ran contrary to its own notification.

While the commission accepted that the man was entitled to compensation for the deficiency in service, it found that he had not produced documentary evidence to substantiate his claim of lost business profit. It awarded Rs 25,000 as compensation and Rs 10,000 as costs, to be paid within 45 days, failing which the compensation amount will attract 6 per cent annual interest from the date of filing the complaint till payment.

Takeaway

The order underscores that the Railways cannot escape liability for a service failure merely by showing that a diversion was operationally justified; it must also show that passengers were actually informed. Where a business or corporate entity fails to intimate a customer of a change that was foreseeable, that failure by itself can constitute deficiency in service.

For consumer-related grievances, individuals may contact the consumer helpline in their respective states and union territories (Telangana: 1800-4250-0333) or call the National Consumer Helpline at 1915 for assistance.

(Written by Avinash Verma, Avinash is an intern with the Indian Express)