ROURKELA: With resumption of train services following the Covid-19 lockdown, the Indian Railways is being accused of fleecing poor passengers by converting passenger trains into express trains to charge more fare without augmenting average speed or providing facilities on par with express trains. This has hit tribal and other poor segments who are mostly using these trains.
Ironically, only technical definition was changed for conversion of passenger trains into mail express trains and the move might be linked to augment passenger revenue. Reliable sources informed that under the South Eastern Railway (SER) alone, a total of 36 passenger trains (18 pairs) were upgraded to mail express trains including four originating or running through Rourkela.
These include Rourkela-Puri Express, Hatia-Jharsuguda Express via Rourkela, Bilaspur-Tata Express via Rourkela and Tata-Itwari Express via Rourkela. Before the pandemic, all these trains were passenger trains with stoppages at small stations of tribal belts of Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh with average speed of about 38 km/hour. After upgradation, these mail express trains were supposed to run at average speed of 50.8 km/hour but they continue at the old average speed.
General Secretary of UDBHAV, a forum for integrated development and mass awareness, Ved Prakash Tiwari said the Railway Board had issued a circular in October 2020 to this effect and all 16 railway zones including SER had sent details of 358 passenger trains (179 pairs).
Tiwari said one and half month ago, he had sent a letter to the SER General Manager to ensure augmentation of average speed of these passenger trains and provide all facilities on par with mail express trains because poor passengers who are forced to pay extra fare deserve better speed and services. For instance, the old Rourkela-Puri Passenger train is now running as mail express with few Second Class sitting coaches and general coaches. To cover 528 km, it takes 14 hours and 50 minutes with average speed of about 38 km/hour, he pointed out.
The Hatia-Jharsuguda Express via Rourkela continues to run with only general coaches and old speed, he said adding, in one way or the other way the Railways is fleecing poor passengers. SER sources informed the old fare of the Rourkela-Puri Passenger train till Puri was Rs 160 and as Express train the fare has increased to Rs 185.