Trains cancellations, delays add to Bihar flooding woes, passengers inconvenienced

Hindustan Times, Patna | ByAvinash Kumar

Sep 29, 2019 03:36 PM IST

Share Via

Copy Link

Delays and cancellations inconvenienced lakhs of daily and long distance commuters. Several long distance trains were reported running late by four to ten hours and the passengers said timely and correct information on delays was not forthcoming from the railways.

Incessant rains for the last two days affected train services across Bihar on Saturday, as many as 12 trains were cancelled, 7 short-terminated and 20 diverted as stretches of railway tracks between Ara-Sasaram, Patna-Gaya and Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay-Jhajha stations in the East Central Railway (ECR) remained under water.

Railway tracks were flooded at several places in Bihar leading to cancellation and delays in train services. Passengers were left complaining(HT Photo/File/Representative)

Delays and cancellations inconvenienced lakhs of daily and long distance commuters. Several long distance trains were reported running late by four to ten hours and the passengers said timely and correct information on delays was not forthcoming from the railways.

“There was misleading announcements about the delay. Every hour, they would say the train was further delayed. I am a heart patient and it is very difficult for me. My train was scheduled to arrive at 11.30 pm but arrived after 7am. I spent the whole night on the platform and fell sick,” said a 73 year-old Urmila Devi at the Patna railway junction.

Passenger amenities including waiting rooms and public toilets were unable to cope with the swelling crowed of passengers waiting at stations.

“There is no arrangement for the elderly at the Patna railway station. The toilets are not clean and there was no one in the station master’s room to attend to complaints at night,” said another passenger, Manish Kumar, a school teacher.

Thousands of daily train commuters were seen taking buses to their workplace outside Patna. Railways has said that normal services will only resume after flood waters recede.

At least 25 people were killed across the state in the last 24 hours as heavy rains continued to lash the state for the third day on Sunday including six in Bhagalpur and Gaya each, five in Patna, four in Begusarai, Jamui, Sitamarhi and Samastipur districts.

Rescue teams have been deployed in districts experiencing flood-like situation. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said 18 of its teams were deployed across the state.

Officials of the water resources department said water levels in all the rivers in the state were rising leading to inundation in towns and rural areas and putting pressure on the embankments.

Here’s the list of cancelled and diverted trains

CANCELLED

12317 Kolkata-Amritsar

13401 Bhagalpur-Danapur

18183/18184 Tata-Danapur

13249/13250 Patna-Bhabhua Road

15125/15126 Patna-Manduadih

11105 Kolkata-Jhansi

13007 Howrah-Sriganga Nagar Toofan Exp

18621 Patna-Hatia-Ranchi Express

DIVERTED

13005 Howrah-Amritsar via Asansol and Gaya