Train cancellations annoy commuters

Angry passengers went on a rampage at the south-suburban section of the Sealdah division on Tuesday after they found that 12 trains had been cancelled. One GRP personnel suffered serious head injuries in the stone pelting that followed.

Commuters in the Sealdah-Baruipur section were infuriated with the decision of the Eastern Railway authorities to cancel 12 pairs of trains in the section because of maintenance work. Out of the 12 pairs of suburban EMUs, six were cancelled during the peak hours between 6:20 am and 9:50 am. A large section of people commuting in the EMU locals in this section comprises domestic helps and day labourers. The decision of the Railway authorities to suspend services was prompted by the fact that there would be no crowd with Tuesday being a holiday for Laksmi Puja. This, however, did not go down well with the commuters and they turned violent throwing stones and ransacking station premises at Subhashgram and Docharan stations.

The agitation that broke out at 7 am continued for more than two hours. 8220;The announcement that 25 pairs of trains in different sections will remain cancelled was made in advance with advertisements in newspapers in September,8221; said a senior railway official.

Commuters, however, felt that it was not the first time that the Railway had suspended train services. 8220;They could at least run trains on an hourly basis which could not have caused so much inconvenience. We have to report to work or end up losing a day8217;s wage,8221; said Rubina Alam, a commuter.