Dense fog derails traffic, more than 40 trains hit

Nitish Sharma

Tribune News Service

Ambala, January 3

Over 40 trains were running late due to foggy weather conditions today.

According to information, the trains were running 1-17 hours late. While Himachal Express was running nearly 4 hours behind its schedule, Sachkhand Express and Chhattisgarh Express were running 17 hours and 12 hours late, respectively.

Dadar Express and Saryu-Yamuna Express, New Delhi-Amritsar Shatabadi, Jammu Mail, Duplicate Howrah, Jallianwalla Bagh Express, Tata-Muri Express, Kochuveli Express and Chandigarh-Lucknow Express were running behind schedule.

Amritsar-New Delhi Shan-E-Punjab Express (12497) and Fazilka-Delhi Express (14732) were cancelled.

A railway official said, “Fog has badly affected the train traffic. Several trains have already been cancelled and frequencies of some trains have been reduced as precautionary measures. The running trains are also touching their destinations very late. The speed of trains has also been reduced.”

Divisional Railway Manager, Ambala Division, Dinesh Chand Sharma, said, “The fog is a regular issue in this season and it affects the train traffic. All safety measures are in place and operations are being managed accordingly.”

Jagmohan Sukhija, a commuter, said, “Trains have been running behind their schedule and it has become a difficult task to wait at the railway station in cold weather conditions. Besides this, the railway application (national train enquiry system) is also not working properly.”

Himanshu Narang, another commuter, said, “It gets more difficult when you are travelling with children as endless waiting at stations is really boring. A large number of people are waiting at the platforms as the waiting rooms are full. The railways must introduce some new techniques to ensure timely operations during foggy weather conditions.”

Ravi, another commuter at the railway station, said, “I reached here around 9 am as my train was scheduled to reach Ambala around 9.15 am, but its 10.30 am already and there is no announcement yet.” Passengers also took to Twitter to express their unhappiness with late running of trains.

Trains running up to 17 hours late 

• Himachal Express was running nearly 4 hours behind its schedule, Sachkhand Express and Chhattisgarh Express were running 17 hours and 12 hours late, respectively 
• Dadar Express and Saryu-Yamuna Express, New Delhi-Amritsar Shatabadi, Jammu Mail, Duplicate Howrah, Jallianwalla Bagh Express, Tata-Muri Express, Kochuveli Express and Chandigarh-Lucknow Express were running behind schedule
• Amritsar-New Delhi Shan-E-Punjab Express (12497) and Fazilka-Delhi Express (14732) were cancelled