Title - Power failure in northern India: 200 trains hit

Chandigarh: Train services were disrupted in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh due to collapse of the northern grid this morning, leaving a large number of passengers stranded. According to reports, 200 passenger train services have been hit by the power failure. While trains like Shatabdi and Rajdhani are running late by four to five hours, 45 local trains have been cancelled. (See list here)

A number of passenger trains bound for Delhi and beyond, Chandigarh, Amritsar, Jammu, Ferozepur and Kalka were stranded at way side stations due to failure of electricity, a senior railway official told PTI here.

He said efforts were on to move the passenger trains with diesel engines after detaching them from running goods trains which would remain halted at way side railway stations.The stations where passenger trains were stranded include Ambala, Kurukshetra, Phillaur, Sirhind, Ludhiana, Phagwara and Karnal.

Some trains were stranded midway as the electric engines hauling them came to a halt due to failure of power at about 2.30 AM.

Kalka Chandigarh Delhi Shatabdi Express left the local station 90 minutes behind scheduled departure of 6.53 AM after a diesel engine was attached to it.

The trains affected include Amritsar Delhi Shatabdi Express, Allahabad Chandigarh Unchahaar, Lucknow Chandigarh Sadbhavna, Howraha Kalka Mail, Delhi Jammu Mail and a number of other superfast, express, passenger and local trains.

The official said that the signal system had also blanked at a number of places due to the power failure.