Passengers hit hard as trains keep running late

Poor punctuality of trains in most regions of the country, with several mail and express trains running late by over 12 hours despite there being no fog, is causing massive inconvenience to passengers, leaving them stranded, angry and anguished.

Earlier this week, trains like Saharsa-Anand Vihar Jansadharan Express were running late by 42 hours; Seemanchal Express was running late by 36 hours, Jan Nayak Express was behind schedule by 29 hours, Awadh-Assam Express was 16 hours behind schedule, while Saheed Express and Amarnath Express were running late by 15 and 14 hours respectively.

Even the Humsafar Express, that was launched by the Ministry of Railways in 2016, has been running behind schedule by over six hours in the past two weeks.

Such long delays have caused a l ot of anger and resentment among passengers who had booked their tickets in these trains. Varun Dhody, who had booked tickets from Lucknow to Delhi earlier this month in Humsafar Express, was left stranded at Lucknow station for over five hours after which he was forced to book a flight ticket at almost double the cost to return to Delhi. Leaders i n Madhya Pradesh Congress are positive about the success of the party’s “Ghar Wapsi” initiative to bring back those who had abandoned the party after its long dry spell in the state. Nonetheless, some said that they are waiting for the Karnataka election results to be out to see how the Congress performs there before taking a final decision. Meanwhile, the state leadership can recount the new and old workers who have joined the party recently.

Dipak Babaria, AICC incharge of Madhya Pradesh, told “In Madhya Pradesh, the Congress has its own wave. Over 100-150 workers have already joined Congress in the state and most of them are the people who matter. We are also in the process of inducting some sitting MLAs. Their break away from BJP will result in leaders abandoning BJP, keeping in mind the huge antiincumbency that Bharatiya