Two special trains run for stranded passengers
Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, Aug 28: Rail traffic in Jammu Division remained completely suspended for the third consecutive day today and will continue to remain paralyzed as the Northern Railway authorities have announced cancellation of 40 scheduled trains to and from Jammu tomorrow.
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Except two special trains, which were run for stranded passengers here, there was no arrival as well as departure of any train at Jammu Railway Station on Thursday.
According to an official spokesperson of Northern Railway, there is complete suspension of rail traffic on Kathua-Madhopur Punjab Downline due to misalignment on Bridge number 17 following flash floods and soil erosion.
Further, there are breeches on multiple locations in Jammu division and in view of the prevailing situation, rail traffic is likely to remain paralyzed for the next few days, official added.
Due to traffic suspension, Northern Railway has announced cancellation of 40 scheduled trains to and from Jammu and short termination/origination of 12 other trains.
The cancelled trains include 24 Up trains (which were scheduled to arrive here from different stations across India) and 16 Down trains (which were scheduled to depart from Jammu, Katra and Udhampur Stations).
Meanwhile, Jammu Division of Northern Railway, keeping this situation in mind, has been taking all necessary steps to ensure the safety of passengers and restore rail service as early as possible.
To help the stranded passengers reach their destination, Jammu Division, in collaboration with Government Railway Police (GRP) and District Administration, ran two special trains on Thursday.
The first special train, number 02238, carrying about 1,400 to 1,500 passengers, left Jammu for Banaras at 15:45 pm. After this, a second special train number for New Delhi. 04680 was arranged, which departed at 17.40 hrs, carrying over 1,500 passengers.
The passengers expressed their deep appreciation and satisfaction to Indian Railways for the prompt and efficient arrangements made under such challenging circumstances.
Under the overall supervision and guidance of Divisional Railway Manager Vivek Kumar and Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Uchit Singhal, dedicated teams led by Assistant Commercial Manager Jaswant Singh and Manoj Meena worked tirelessly. They closely coordinated with various departments to ensure timely and smooth departure of the special trains. GRP and Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel also played a vital role in ensuring safe and orderly boarding of the train by the passengers.
Senior Commercial Manager of the division, Uchit Singhal, said that along with running trains for the passengers stranded due to floods, the railway administration also made arrangements for their food and water at important stations like Jammu, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra, Pathankot Cantt and Pathankot City. And with the help of local people, langars were organized at many places and proper arrangements for accommodation were made, he added.
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