Title - Trains laze in morning haze

Several long-distance trains — particularly those coming to Tatanagar from Bihar and northern India — ran late for the second consecutive day, thanks to dense fog that has reduced morning visibility by less than five times.The Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, New Delhi-Puri Neelanchal Express, New Delhi-Bhubaneswar Sampark Kranti Express and Puri-New Delhi Purushottam Superfast Express reached Tatanagar two hours behind schedule on Thursday.“Fog has taken a toll on the punctuality of long-distance trains. Passengers bore the brunt as half a dozen trains reached Tatanagar late today,” admitted station manager Rajeshwar Choudhary.The cold and fog in the north and in Jharkhand have sent train schedules haywire since Wednesday.Rajdhani, which chugs into Tatanagar at 10.50am, was delayed by over two hours. Puri-bound Purushottam Superfast Express, which usually arrives at 8.30pm, too came to Tatanagar around 10.30pm on Wednesday.Several other trains, including Jallianwala Bagh Express, Tata-Patna South Bihar Express and Tata-Chapra Express, have also been running late for the past few days.Visibility in the morning in and around the city is about 700 metres against a normal of 5,000 metres. It is worse between 4am and 5.30am, when the fog is densest.

Weathermen said fog of this magnitude was nothing abnormal during this time of the year.

“Dense fog is occurring mostly from 4am till the time the sun starts rising. In several areas, the fog cover stays on till 8am,” said A.K. Sen, the director of Patna Meteorological Office, which keeps tabs on Jharkhand’s weather.