Fog derails timings, 109 trains delayed

NEW DELHI: Dense fog across north India on Saturday derailed the train schedule. Northern Railways , which was struggling to keep trains moving in the wee hours of the morning for the past three weeks, was forced to reschedule 44 trains even as 109 trains were delayed by around eight to 27 hours. Even the Rajdhanis, travelling from east and northeast India to the capital were delayed by over eight hours. Normal express trains fared worse. North-East Express was 22 hours behind schedule while the Jabalpur Express was running 27 hours late. Three trains — Lucknow Shatabdi, Kaifiyat Express and Swaraj Express — were cancelled.

Passengers were again at the receiving end. Take the case of Aminul, for example. “My brother and his family were scheduled to board Poorva Express on Friday. The train was rescheduled to 10.50pm from its original 4.20pm departure. As we reached the New Delhi station, we were told the train would leave at 4.20am. The train got again rescheduled to
1pm. It finally left at 3.30pm on Saturday , 23 hours behind the schedule ,” said Aminul.

Northern Railway officials said dense fog in many areas of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh affected traffic as more than 100 trains were running late by four to 30 hours each day. “There is every probability that Saturday’s train might leave on Sunday. Even if the situation improves drastically , it will take at least three days to establish normalcy,’’ said an officer . Pashim Express was running 28 hours late, Bangalore Rajdhani by 10 hours, Mahananda Express by 22 hours, Howrah Rajdhani by eight hours, Sealdah Rajhani by eight hours and Poorva Express by 27 hours. Even Lucknow Shatabdi that left Lucknow on Friday night was late by 17 hours — more time than it takes to complete two trips.

Saturday also saw rescheduling of 44 trains, including Rajdhani Express trains to Howrah and Mumbai. While the worst-affected trains were those coming from the eastern part of the country, trains from southern and south central parts of the country too hit by fog. Officials said that speed restrictions were applied due to poor visibility . “The speed of most trains has been restricted to around 40 km/hr and even less in stretches near Tundla, Moradabad, Bhatinda and Kanpur. Most trains to Delhi cross Kanpur-Tundla stretch early morning when there is dense fog,” said an official.

Railways invoke semi-automatic signaling system during dense fog to avoid any mishaps and that too contribute to the delay , the official said.