ROURKELA: The Rourkela Bar Association (RBA) protested the frequent delays of prominent trains at the Rourkela Junction on the busy Howrah-Mumbai main line of South Eastern Railway (SER).
On Tuesday, a delegation led by RBA president Sadanand Sahoo, vice-president Raj Kishore Pradhan, and joint secretary Anjana Gahir submitted a memorandum to the Chakradharpur divisional railway manager (DRM) through the station manager.
The memorandum highlighted the hardships faced by passengers, particularly the elderly, women, and children, during the scorching summer. The RBA pointed out that trains such as the Rajyarani Express, Rourkela-Bhubaneswar Inter-City Express, Tapaswini Express, and Samaleswari Express regularly arrive or depart several hours behind schedule.
Specifically, the Rourkela-Bhubaneswar Inter-City Express, scheduled to arrive at 9 pm, often reaches Rourkela around 11 pm or midnight. These delays force passengers to pay higher fares for auto-rickshaws.
The RBA claimed that passenger trains are frequently detained at Panposh, Kalunga, or nearby stations to allow goods trains to pass. Passengers travelling between Rourkela and destinations such as Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, and Kolkata are the most affected. The RBA demanded that SER take immediate corrective measures to address these delays.