RAIPUR: Regular delays and unforeseen suspension or cancellation of several long-route passenger trains have left the commuters distressed and wearisome. Reportedly, according to the railways, over 67,600 passenger trains have been cancelled since 2020 till April this year in the South East Central Railway (SECR) zone that covers Chhattisgarh to Nagpur.
In response to the query filed under the Right to Information (RTI) by the Chhattisgarh-based RTI applicant Kunal Shukla in SECR, one of the most profit-making zones, the railways admitted over 67,600 passenger trains have been cancelled since 2020 till April this year in the zone.
The RTI responses cited that in the year 2020, the railways cancelled 32,757 trains, in 2021 the operations of 32,151 trains were suspended. In 2022, 2,474 trains were called-off and till April this year so far 208 were postponed (SEE BOX). These trains served the short to long-distance routes on different dates in the given year.
“Railways are national jewels but the worsening conditions of its services are indeed alarming for the citizens,” said Shukla. Initially, there were strong protests in the Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh, with chief minister Bhupesh Baghel often expressing his concerns over the cancellation and excessive delay of passenger trains, calling the trend “anti-people”.
As many as nine out of the 11 Lok Sabha members from Chhattisgarh are from the BJP who also admitted the cancellation of trains led to discomfort and hardships for the people. But they apparently didn’t have any say in the decision.
Besides the cancellation and suspension, the local population is “unhappy and expressed their strong resentment” as they helplessly lamented since most of the trains were running too late.