Passengers gasp as train AC goes bust

Angry passengers asked for a refund and were pacified only after the AC was repaired in Etawah

LUCKNOW: Passengers on board the Delhi-bound Shatabdi Express (12033) gasped for fresh air after the train’s air condition broke down near Etawah Delhi on Monday morning.

Panic ensued after a few passengers, who were in favour of continuing the journey, reportedly entered into a brawl with those who pulled the chain, demanding immediate AC repair.

The angry passengers who were demanding a refund, were pacified only after the AC was repaired in Etawah. It took around 10 minutes for the Railway officers to get it repaired. Passengers said cooling was an issue since the train left Kanpur.

Some of the passengers said that they approached the Railway staff on board, but no one paid heed to their problem.

They became aggressive when the AC completely stopped working near Etawah.

Some passengers pulled the chain, demanding immediate repair and de-boarded the train, saying there was no fresh air inside and it was totally unbearable .

It didn’t take long for the passengers to take the issue to the social media.

Shashank Tripathi, a twitterati’s tweet reads—‘Travelling in Kanpur Delhi Shatabdi Express train number 12033. One of the premium trains with completely

SOME PASSENGERS PULLED THE CHAIN, DEMANDING IMMEDIATE REPAIR AND DEBOARDED THE TRAIN, SAYING IT WAS TOTALLY UNBEARABLE INSIDE.

non functional AC. Passengers boiling in closed compartments... Pathetic’.

The situation got worse when a few passengers began opposing the train’s detention and reportedly entered into a brawl.

At the same time, a video of the passengers arguing with each other over the issue of chain pulling went viral on social media.

North Central Railways (NCR) officials said the problem probably occurred due to some circuit related snag in the power cab that affected the train’s cooling.

Amit Malviya, public relations officer (PRO), NCR said the problem came to the fore when the train reached Etawah.

“On getting information, , the on board electricity staff managed to spot the snag at the control circuit of the power cab. The train was detained for 10 minutes to repair the snag and departed at 7:50am. It reached Delhi with a delay of 15 minutes,” he said.