Title - New train announcement welcomed

Amritsar: Union Railway Minister Pawan Bansal’s announcement of launching another train on the Amritsar-Chandigarh route has been well-received here, as the conversion of the Amritsar-Chandigarh Duronto train into a superfast express on September 11 has proved successful.Officials at the local railway station said the occupancy rate of the superfast train was about 50 to 60 per cent, which was considerably above the loss-making Duronto train. The 1,400-seat capacity train of Duronto was incurring a loss of about Rs 4 lakh daily, as on an average, only 20 per cent of the seats remained occupied. While the passengers travelling from Chandigarh to Amritsar were even less than this, informed the authorities.Passengers from Amritsar were seeking halts at key stations like Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Mohali etc and people from Chandigarh were demanding stoppages at Beas, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Mohali as well.Duronto became the first train connecting the holy city with the state capital on August 24 last year. However, it ran into losses due to low occupancy, even forcing the Railways to reduce the number of coaches a few months after its launch. The Amritsar-Chandigarh direct Duronto had evoked a poor response from the passengers who were demanding that the train be given halts at Jalandhar and Ludhiana. However, the Railways authorities were not open to the idea earlier, contending that Duronto was a non-stop train plying between originating station and the destination. However, the authorities later gave in to passengers demand and decided to rename the train as Amritsar- Chandigarh Superfast Express.

A city resident, Dr AL Adlakha, said a talk with some passengers who travelled in the express train from its inauguration on August 24 to October 10 showed that a maximum number of people from the holy city of Amritsar travelled through this train. About 8,989 passengers had travelled from Amritsar to Chandigarh, while only 7,265 passengers utilised the services of this train from the city. The train, with two AC coaches and 12 non-AC chair car coaches, has a capacity of over 1,400 passengers.

He said the implementation of their demand of halting the train at Jalandhar and Ludhiana made it financially viable.

He said the timing of the train was suitable for employees and professionals like advocates and people commuting to secretariat. However, people coming from remote rural areas of the city and adjoining towns of Batala and Tarn Taran were not able to catch it.

A communist leader, Amarjit Singh Asal, welcomed the announcement of the railway minister of operating another train between the holy city and its capital. Led by Asal, the Left parties and city-based NGOs had organised an agitation against the railway ministry after delay in starting the Duronto between Amritsar and Chandigarh.

He said the second train on the route was also their demand, as it should be operated at a different timing to facilitate passengers from remote and adjoining towns. He said train journey was a respite for passengers coming from middle and lower income groups of families.

He urged the railway authorities to swiftly accomplish the operationalisation of Ludhiana-Morinda track to cut down the travel time between Amritsar and Chandigarh by at least 40 minutes. He said, at present, the Superfast Express train passes through Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Sirhind and Morinda stations to reach Chandigarh. Once the railway line is completed, the train would no longer need to travel to Sirhind, where power change takes place. He added that it would attract more passengers from Jalandhar and Ludhiana, who currently found the road travel more short.