Residents seek direct train to Ludhiana

BATHINDA: In the absence of a direct train from Bathinda to the industrial city of Ludhiana passengers especially traders of both cities have to face a lot of hardship

Updated At : 01:25 PM Apr 04, 2019 IST

In the absence of a direct railway service from Bathinda to Ludhiana, people, especially traders, are a harried lot.

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, April 3

In the absence of a direct train from Bathinda to the industrial city of Ludhiana, passengers, especially traders of both cities, have to face a lot of hardship. Without a direct train service, commuters have to spend a lot of time in travelling as well as face a lot of inconvenience.

Notably, hundreds of passengers, especially traders and workers employed in industrial units, travel from Bathinda to the industrial city of Ludhiana regularly. Since there is no direct train from Bathinda, passengers have to wait at the Dhuri railway station for hours before resuming their travel/journey from there.

Gurvinder Singh Sodhi, a trader, said, “I often send my staff members to Ludhiana to get the supply of electrical equipment, since there is no direct train to the city, the entire day gets wasted. Sometimes, when they are late, I have to ask them to stay back in Ludhiana for the night and return to Bathinda the next day.”

Sukhwinder Singh Jaggi, president of the Bathinda Small Industries’ Association, said, “Ludhiana is the industrial hub of northern region and workers and others often travel to the city to meet their business-related obligations on a daily basis. There are lots of passengers based along this route. A direct train to Ludhiana would reduce the travel time as well as it would help save money spent on bus fare or travelling via cars.

Sukhdev Ram Bansal, general secretary, Railway Passengers’ Welfare Association, said, “The bus fare from Bathinda to Ludhiana is higher as compared to train fare and if the railways introduces a direct train to Ludhiana, then the move would not only benefit hundreds of passengers and traders/workers, but also boost revenue. The demand for a direct train to Ludhiana has been lying pending for a long time. Now, it is high time the authorities concerned fulfil this genuine demand of passengers. Passengers have to spend hours at the Dhuri railway station before they could take the next train to Ludhiana.”

Station Superintendent Ramswaroop Meena said, “Residents have raised the demand of a direct train from Bathinda to Ludhiana and we have forwarded it to the divisional office. So far, we have not received any response in this regard.”