RailEnquiry

Heavy rainfall in north India and Mumbai has taken a toll on punctuality of several long-distance passenger trains passing through Tatanagar.The New Delhi-Puri Purushottam Superfast Express, Tata-Amritsar Jallianwallah Bagh Express (dn), Howrah-Mumbai Geetanjali Express and Howrah-Ahmedabad Express (dn) ran up to six hours behind schedule on Tuesday.Railway officials at Tatanagar confirmed that the trains were delayed because of the downpour in north India and Mumbai over the past couple of days. “Trains from the north and west are running late owing to waterlogging on the tracks along several railway sections,” said an official at the enquiry kiosk.Howrah-bound Geetanjali reached Tatanagar some six hours late. The scheduled arrival of the train is 8.15am, but it chugged in at 2.30pm. Similarly, Purushottam Superfast Express and Jallianwallah Bagh Express were each late by two hours.The Howrah-Ahmedabad Express also arrived at Tatanagar an hour behind schedule on Tuesday. The train was supposed to arrive at 9.20am, but reached around 10.25am.

Trains from Bihar like the South Bihar Express and Tata-Chapra Express (dn) also ran an hour late.

But, railway sources said that they were arriving behind schedule for over a month now. Earlier, it was because of the summer rush and now it is because of monsoon.

Meanwhile, the Chakradharpur railway division has asked authorities at Tatanagar, Rourkela and Jharsuguda stations to remain alert and ensure that passengers were not inconvenienced in case of delays. Stations have been directed to ensure cleanliness of waiting rooms and dormitories and adequate supply of drinking water.