18 long-route trains cancelled; frequency of 14 reduced

LUDHIANA: Northern Railway authorities decided to cancel 18 long-route trains passing through Ferozepur Division on Tuesday, which put passengers in a state of deep confusion. In addition, more than 10 long-route trains arrived late by several hours at the city station.

Major long-route trains affected from December 10 to January-end were Jansadharan Express (Gorakpur-Amritsar), Amritsar-Chandigarh Superfast Express, Amritsar Jansewa Express, Amritsar-Saharsa Jansewa Express, Jaynagar-Amritsar Shaheed Express, and Amritsar-Jaynagar Shaheed Express.

Railway authorities have also reduced the running frequency of 14 trains of Ferozepur Division. The Delhi Sarai Rohilla-Ferozepur Intercity Express, Howrah-Amritsar Express, and Howrah-Jammu Tawi Himgiri Express will not operate every Tuesday until January-end, while Darbhanga-Amritsar Jan Nayak Express, Amritsar-Howrah Mail, Kolkata-Jammu Tawi Express, Ferozepur-Delhi Sarai Rohilla Intercity Express, and Amritsar-Jaynagar Saryu Yamuna Express will not operate on Wednesdays.

Passenger Rajendra Kumar stated: “Despite knowing that there are a large number of travellers from Ludhiana, the railway authorities did not make any appropriate arrangements for passengers whose tickets were booked in trains, which were cancelled due to foggy weather.”

“After getting to know about the railway decision to cancel trains, I was deeply depressed, as I had booked my ticket two to three months ago for an exam in a university in Kolkata in December, but railways did not think even once before taking the decision to cancel trains, which has exposed their indifference to public welfare,” said another passenger.