Title - Selja, Rlys lock horns over train timings

Yamunanagar/Ambala:
Scheduled to start its first journey on August 9 from Ambala, the Ambala-Yamunanagar-Delhi Express train has been put on hold for an indefinite period after Union Minister Kumari Selja and the railway authorities locked horns over its timings.The minister in a formal statement had recently announced that the train would leave Delhi at 5 pm, but the railway authorities claimed the departure timing to be 1.30 pm.This led to some friction between the railway authorities and Selja, who had been instrumental in getting the train started for Ambala and Yamunanagar which are part of her parliamentary constituency. With the Lok Sabha elections approaching fast, it was being perceived as a major poll issue by the minister, sources said. Recently, the Union Minister had announced that the train would start plying on the Ambala-Yamunanagar-Delhi section from August 9. The minister had also asked the Ambala railway authorities to organise a function on August 9, where she was to flag off the train.

The sources said it was after the residents of her constituency demanded that the departure time from Delhi railway station be changed to 5 pm for the convenience of working passengers, whereas railway board fixed the time as 1:30 pm. As the matter could not be resolved, the launch of the train has been deferred.