NCR travellers given one new local train, Gowda disappoints them

With announcement of only one new local passenger train for Delhi and the National Capital Region,  many commuters are disappointed with the Railway Budget tabled in Parliament on Tuesday.

With Delhi-NCR getting only one new local passenger train — Palwal-Delhi-Aligarh Mainline — commuters in Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Meerut, Sonipat continue to face an acute shortage of local trains.

“Where there is no Metro connectivity, the railway is the lifeline. Every day, we travel in an overcrowded train from Meerut to Ghaziabad. The government could have provided us more local trains,” Krishan Malhotra, a Ghaziabad factory worker said.

Delhi also suffers a load of 20 lakh motor vehicles which enter in the city from the neighbouring states. With an existing railway line across the city, a better and reliable public transport system is also possible for commuters from outside the city.

“If I take a bus from Sonipat, it takes four hours to reach Delhi. The government must provide local trains for nearby areas from where people commute daily,” Surendra Kasana, a businessman from Sonipat said.

Commuters from Ghaziabad fare the worst. The few local trains are overcrowded and they have to struggle to board them.

“I have been commuting from Ghaziabad to Delhi for  last seven years and situation has hardly changed. The city’s population is growing continuously and the government needs to provide more local trains for better connectivity with the capital,” Santosh Arora, a Ghaziabad resident said.

However, for Delhi residents who hail from Poorvanchal, the Railway Minister has come up with three new trains. 

Of the total nine new trains from Delhi, Sharsa-Anand Vihar Jansadharan Train, Gorakhpur-Anand Vihar Express (weekly) and New Delhi-Varanasi Express (daily) are launched for Poorvanchal residents.

Delhiites also get two premium trains – Mumbai Central-Hazrat Nizamuddin and Secundrabad-Hazrat Nizamuddin – an AC express train, Naharlagun-New Delhi (weekly), and another express train, New Delhi Bathinda Shatabdi (weekly).