Train cancellations due to renovation work irritate visitors, vendors

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, January 9

Passengers, vendors and visitors at the local railway station are perturbed after more trains were cancelled following the renovation work of platform no. 2. Many trains were already cancelled and diverted after fog intensified in the northern parts of the country.

A vendor said the retail sale had nosedived at platforms after the number of visitors dwindled following cancellation and diversion of trains.

He said: “What is the use of depositing lakhs of rupees in rent to the railways and bearing expenses of employees, power bills and other overhead costs when the railway authorities are simply stopping the plying of trains to resolve th3e latter’s problems”.

To install washable apron on platform no. 2 at the Amritsar Railway station, the civil work is underway.

To facilitate uninterrupted civil work, the railway authorities have stopped halts of up and down Tata Moori, which connects Rourkela to Jammu Tawi, and Jammu-Bathinda Express (up and down).

Keeping in view the inclement weather condition, the Northern Railway had cancelled as many as 22 trains, including some of them originating and touching the city, for a period of one month starting from December 17. Some of these trains are Amritsar-Chandigarh Superfast Express, Jan Nayak, Jansewa, Amritsar Nangal Dam Express, which connects to Anandpur Sahib, besides Dehradun Express and Amritsar-Haridwar Janshatabdi.

Another vendor said two Shatabdi trains between Amritsar and New Delhi were continuously plying and occupying platform for 12 hours.

He said these two trains remained untouched. On the contrary, a majority of the trains halting here for a brief 15 to 30 minutes, have been stopped from being plied.

Vendors said there was another way for managing those trains staying here for a longer time. However, that is too, not being applied, in case of Shatabdi. For instance, Mumbai-Amritsar Golden Temple Mail, arrives here at 7 am and is taken to yard as it has to return at 9:25 pm on the same day.

They felt that it would also cause heavy loss of revenue to the railways.

When approached, Rajya Sabha member Shwait Malik, who is also a member of the Railway Board, said the problem of scarcity of space at the railway station was also well known.

He said washable aprons were being provided at the Chheharta railway station so that all trains for washing would go through there after alighting passengers at the local railway station. The problem would be resolved at the year end.