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With the fog-induced delay in trains plying through the city extending up to 10 to 12 hours, hundreds of passengers were left stranded at the railway station on Sunday. Passengers with reserved seats in long-distance trains were forced to wait long hours at the platform amid the chilly weather.
In the absence of an enclosed waiting area to cater to the heavy footfall of the passengers who come from different parts of the city and far-flung villages to board trains, passengers, including children and senior citizens, were spotted sitting on platforms.
The trains which were running behind their scheduled time on Sunday were — Antyoday express by over nine hours, Sachkhand express by six hours, Katihar-Amritsar Express and Amritsar Express by five hours, Malwa express by six hours, Howrah-Amritsar by nine hours, Himgiri Express by eight hours, Sarvodaya express by four hours and Varanasi-Jammu Tawi Express and Archana Express was delayed by nine hours.
Narrating his ordeal, Surjeet Singh, a medical student at a Moga college, said, “I am travelling to Mathura to attend a medical conference. I have been waiting for the last six hours for the Sachkhand Express which was scheduled to arrive at 7 am.”
Singh added that he had reached Ludhiana last night from his village to catch the train on time.
Echoing the sentiment, Rakesh Kumar, a resident of Dhandari, said he had booked a train to go to Delhi, but the same was running nine hours behind schedule.
“Me and my family were left in a state of a lurch,” he said, adding that he had checked the timings on the railways’ app, which initially showed only a 30-minute delay.
Addressing the issue, a railway official who did not wish to be named said the speed of trains has been affected due to the fog and the same affects the overall schedule.
In view of the foggy weather, the Northern Division of the railways had cancelled as many as 16 with both reserved and normal coaches till February 28.
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