HIT BY GUJJAR STIR, WESTERN RAILWAY CANCELS THIRTEEN TRAINS

MUMBAI : Passengers travelling on the Western Railway’s (WR) outstation trains faced severe inconvenience on Sunday, as 13 trains connecting the city to the northern part of the country were cancelled, owing to the ongoing Gujjar agitation in Rajasthan.

Many trains originating from the city were also delayed, as the agitation for 5% reservations entered its third day. The WR is likely to cancel the regular outstation trains operating from the city till February 13.

WR said it will operate special trains from Bandra Terminus on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, to Sawai Madhopur in Rajashtan. The trains will depart at 08.15pm. In addition to these special trains, WR has also provided help desks for passengers at Bandra Terminus, Mumbai Central, Borivli, Andheri stations and well as at Surat railway station in Gujarat. The refund counters for passengers have been also been opened at all these stations. “Announcements are regularly being conducted at railway stations, along with refund counters for passengers. To cater to the queries of passengers, we have also deputed 138 additional staff,” said a senior western railway official.

Meanwhile, passengers travelling on the suburban locals also faced inconvenience, owing to the maintenance block, operational on the Harbour and the WR routes. On the Harbour line, the block was operational between the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Chunabhatti railway stations from 11.10am to 4.10pm.

On the Western line, the block was undertaken between Santacruz and Goregaon stations on the fast line corridor from 10.35am to 03.35pm.