Delhi: No buses yet for special train passengers

NEW DELHI: On Thursday, buses of Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) will pick up migrant workers from different parts of Delhi and ferry them to New Delhi Railway Station. Recently, when some special flights arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport from different countries, sources said that DTC buses were deployed to transport the stranded passengers to different parts of the city.
However, when special AC trains arrive from different cities to New Delhi Railway Station, the rail passengers are on their own after exiting the station premises as no DTC buses have been arranged for them.
It was on Monday that Indian Railways announced its plans to restart passenger trains in a phased manner from the next day. On Tuesday, when special trains first started operating from New Delhi Railway Station, passengers had to hitchhike, pay through their nose for a cab ride or reach the station on foot. On Wednesday, when the trains started arriving, the rail passengers, including many NCR residents, were left in the lurch.
“Buses are being deployed in arrangement with administration of the 11 districts of Delhi and these are only meant to drop migrant workers to railway stations. There can be no regular bus services till official orders are issued,” an official said.
“There are no arrangements yet for passengers of AC trains. For their needs, taxis are better suited than buses, but no decision has been taken on this yet,” he added.
When contacted, state transport minister Kailash Gahlot said that Delhi government can’t run public transport as per guidelines of the central government. The DTC spokesman didn’t respond to queries sent by TOI.
Recently, Delhi government had sent 40 private chartered buses to bring back hundreds of Delhi students stranded in Kota. More than 60 DTC buses were then deployed to drop them at their homes from the Kashmere Gate inter-state bus terminal. The government has also sent about 2,400 migrants from Madhya Pradesh and Bihar to their hometowns through special trains and buses are being deployed to drop them at railway stations.
“Those arriving by AC trains have to depend on family members or friends to come to the railway station and pick them up. But not everyone will have relatives with a vehicle. Also, what is the guarantee that they will be available at the time of the train’s arrival?” asked a resident.
100 buses to be operated from today, claim police
To help those coming to Delhi by trains, Delhi Police’s railways unit claims that “DTC will operate buses from New Delhi Railway Station to the eleven district headquarters.” The DTC spokesperson was unavailable for a comment on this.
“We don’t want any inconvenience for the passengers and with the efforts made in close coordination with railway authorities, the whole operation has been very successful and it will continue in the same way in the coming days. Around 100 buses will be operational from Thursday, but as per the requirement and train arrivals, further arrangements will be made,” said Harendra K Singh, deputy commissioner of police, railways.
As per the railway unit’s release, to segregate the movement of passengers, the buses will be available from the Ajmeri Gate side. Those using private conveyance can take Minto Road, while the passengers taking DTC buses can board from the parking area in front of Ajmeri Gate.