RailEnquiry

This must come as an embarrassment to the railways. The Jalandhar-New Delhi Inter-City Express has been cancelled since December 15, but its tickets can still be booked online.

Because of this, those who book the tickets reach the railway station at 5.30am, only to be told that the train has been cancelled. Shikhar Sharma, a passenger HT spoke to, said he had booked a ticket of the train to reach Delhi in time for work. “But, as the train had been cancelled, I had to return home. It is surprising that the authorities concerned are putting customers to such inconvenience.”

Contacted, station superintendent Ravinder Sharma feigned ignorance about the issue. He did not know if passengers were able to book the tickets online. “I will ask the authorities concerned to stop online booking. It should be informed on the website that the train has been cancelled,” he said.

Sharma confirmed that the train had not plied since December 15. “It will resume from March 15,” he said, adding that a notice about the cancellation of the train would soon be put up.   Another passenger, Swati Jindal, said she did not understand the logic behind letting passengers book tickets online. “I had taken leave from work to visit my parents in Ghaziabad. I woke up at 4am and was in for a shock when on reaching the station I was told that the train had been cancelled,” she said. “The authorities should be embarrassed of this.”