Travelling to destinations like Bhubaneshwar, Lucknow, Ranchi or Kolkata has become a hassle as trains run late almost everyday for the past one week.
The trains that traverse multiple railway zones often have poor records of punctuality to such an extent that travel has become unreliable.
The Railways reschedules services from Chennai to Howrah almost everyday for the last 4-5 days. The trains depart from MGR Chennai Central railway station 3-4 hours late. The trains had to be rescheduled as incoming trains were running late.
“The arrival of the pairing train keeps getting delayed. The rake has to be cleaned and readied for the upward journey from Chennai. This causes further delays,” said an official. The incoming train is often delayed by 4-11 hours.
On Monday, Chennai-Howrah Mail scheduled to leave at 7.30pm was rescheduled to 4am on Tuesday. IRCTC sends messages to passengers about the delay but people have to be at the station earlier than usual because it is not easy to reach the station in the middle of the night from different parts of the city.
The impact on passengers is huge. Several people are forced to reach MGR Chennai Central earlier than usual and wait for hours to board the trains. In some cases, the departure time is rescheduled to well into late night or early next morning. This forces people to camp at the railway station.
“The train will be designed on the Vande Bharat platform but will not be air-conditioned. The interiors of the coaches will have a modern look and better amenities,” said a source. The train will have a dedicated locomotive on both ends so that it can be operated bi-directionally like the Vande Bharat trains.
However, under pressure to run the service, railways often releases the rake after a perfunctory cleaning or sometimes no cleaning at all.
Bhavya S, 29, from Kolkata, on a trip to Chennai and returning in 12840 MGR Chennai Central-Howrah Mail, said, “ I have zero expectations now from the Railways. The pairing train will come at 3.30am and will leave in 30 minutes as Howrah Mail. Talk about cleanliness and punctuality.”
The delays have hit people who come to Chennai for medical treatment.
Animesh Agarwal, 45, from Kolkata, in Chennai for treatment of his daughter, said “There is no focus on train timings after the Coromandel accident. For families with travelling patients, the ordeal cannot get any worse.”
The ordeal is more for people whose destinations are enroute stations.
A passenger who was coming from Bengaluru to Chennai a few days ago by Agartala Humsafar was stuck on the train for 4-5 hours as the services were delayed between Bangarapet and Katpadi because of a line block.
As these trains cross multiple zones, railways take no responsibility to ensure punctuality. There is no pressure on the railways as there are no passengers’ associations to highlight the delays.
