Delhi-Howrah trains halted for five hours after protest on tracks

Ghaziabad: Train movement on the Delhi-Howrah route was disrupted for almost five hours on Saturday evening after linemen protested on the tracks when one of their colleagues was run over while at work.
The accident occurred around 4.35pm, following which trains like Vande Bharat remained stalled. It was only when the DRM visited the spot and pacified the agitating linemen that the services resumed around 9pm.
"Ajay Kumar (28) was working on line 3 when the Dadri-Delhi EMU crossed Ghaziabad station around 4.35pm and ran him over.His colleagues occupied the tracks and staged a protest. Trains on the route had to be halted," said NK Choudhary, the station master.
"Around ten trains between Delhi and Howrah were halted, which included Vande Bharat as well. The protesters wanted the DRM to visit the spot. And when he did so, they decided to vacate the tracks around 8.30pm," added Choudhary.
Hariom Bhati, one of the protesters, accused the railways of negligence. "For long, we have been demanding a safety device called ‘rakshak', which alerts linemen during train movement. The device has still not been used in this section, as a result of which the accident took place," he added.