Fog delays trains, passengers left harried

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, December 22

Though the Railways temporarily cancelled movement of 22 long and short-route trains running from Jalandhar, hundreds of passengers remained harried a lot as two trains got cancelled and several others were running late due to thick fog on Sunday morning.

As per the city railway station counter, Sachkhand Express (12715) departed with a delay of over seven hours on Sunday. The train running between Amritsar and Huzur Sahib in Nanded usually departs from city station at 6.45 am.

Similarly, passengers travelling on Amritsar-Jalandhar-Ludhiana-New Delhi route were the worst sufferers as one pair of intercity trains between Jalandhar-New Delhi was short terminated and others reached here through diverted routes. The trains heading towards Hoshiarpur also kept passengers waiting for one to two hours.

Deputy Superintendent (DS) of the station said the Dharbhanga – Jalandhar city express (22551) reached with a delay of 10 hours, after completing 1,396 km journey on diverted routes.

The Antyodaya Express (22552) and Amritsar- Gorakhpur Jansadharan Express (22424) were cancelled on Sunday and Nanded-Amritsar Express (12216) reached late at the station. The DS further said during winters, trains usually run late, however, this year due to drop in mercury, which touched 6 degrees, the visibility has reduced significantly on several routes.

The unreserved waiting hall could be seen crowded with passengers. Many were found waiting outside the station too. Kapil Singh, who had to board the Dadar Express, which was over two hours late, said: “If the trains are late for over two hours now, what will happen when the fog becomes dense? It is difficult to wait for such a long time in the cold.”