Dense fog derails schedule of 120 trains

NEW DELHI: Owing to Friday's dense fog, the schedule of 122 trains was changed by Northern Railway, which included delays, rescheduling and cancellations. More than 20 trains, 10 of them Shatabdi express, had to be cancelled with the visibility going down drastically early in the morning.

Senior railway officials said this was the first and worst fog of the season. "The number of trains originating or terminating at Delhi remained low. Visibility dropped to zero and many trains had to be stopped for safety reasons. So far 350 trains have been affected due to fog in January. We have made arrangements, but a few things are beyond our control. We request passengers to cooperate. Railways is making all efforts to minimise inconvenience," said Arun Arora, divisional railway manager, Delhi Division, Northern Railway.

Passengers were seen stranded on platforms and the stations were overcrowded. Abhay Mishra, a 26-year-old student, who had planned to travel by Kanpur Shatabdi, said, "I thought I would reach Kanpur late on Friday so that I could travel to Lucknow by Saturday morning. But now that the train has been cancelled, I am stranded. I won't be able to reach Lucknow on time to attend the family function."

"We have ensured that change in train timings is displayed on LCD screens installed at platforms. As a large number of trains had to be rescheduled, officers from departments like electrical, mechanical made plans to reduce the inconvenience faced by passengers. However, no compromise on passenger safety was made," said Neeraj Sharma, CPRO, Northern Railway.