The late late train: Bengaluru-Chennai Mail
Christin Mathew Philip | TNN | Dec 24, 2017, 07:01 IST
Frequent rescheduling of B'luru-Chennai Mail has left passengers in the lurch. BENGALURU: The bullet train is almost here, yet the late train is not making it in time. With an average delay of five hours, the late night Bengaluru-Chennai Mail (train no. 12658) has been rescheduled at least eight days so far in December. Worse, the oncepacked train is now running half its capacity.
The train, which is supposed to leave Bengaluru City Railway Station at 10.40pm every day, is being unapologetically rescheduled to 5am the following morning on most days, leaving thousands of passengers stranded and distraught. Foggy conditions in the north and lack of a spare rake are being blamed for the delay.
On Saturday, in a record of sorts, the 10.40pm train was rescheduled for 8.40am the next day (Dec 24), logging a delay of nearly 10 hours.
Train delay: Railway officials blame rake shortage, Delhi fog
The delay, railway officials suggest, was due to shortage of rakes and the pairing train (Karnataka Express), which arrived late from New Delhi due to foggy conditions. With rescheduling becoming frequent, there is also a sudden dip in the number of passengers taking the Bengaluru-Chennai Mail.
TP Lokesh from Karnataka Railway Vedike, a rail advocacy group, said the spare rake for Chennai Mail was taken back after Vasco Da Gama Express suffered extensive damage in an accident in Uttar Pradesh. "The railways should provide a permanent spare rake for the Chennai Mail to avoid unnecessary delays. It was once a jam-packed train but now passengers are being forced to cancel tickets and depend on private buses."
Lokesh said that the spare rake was provided earlier to ensure that the Chennai Mail was in time, but the provision became unviable as fog or an accident could still cause a delay. "Of late, the Mail reaches Chennai only by afternoon whereas its scheduled time is 4:35am, forcing us to depend on other means of transport," said Priyanka S, a regular commuter between Bengaluru and Chennai. Krishna Prasad, a rail activist, pointed out that the year-end is seeing a huge demand for tickets. But frequent rescheduling has left people travelling between the two cities to fend for themselves, he said.
Senior divisional commercial manager (Bangalore Railway Division
Christin Mathew Philip | TNN | Dec 24, 2017, 07:01 IST
Frequent rescheduling of B'luru-Chennai Mail has left passengers in the lurch. BENGALURU: The bullet train is almost here, yet the late train is not making it in time. With an average delay of five hours, the late night Bengaluru-Chennai Mail (train no. 12658) has been rescheduled at least eight days so far in December. Worse, the oncepacked train is now running half its capacity.The train, which is supposed to leave Bengaluru City Railway Station at 10.40pm every day, is being unapologetically rescheduled to 5am the following morning on most days, leaving thousands of passengers stranded and distraught. Foggy conditions in the north and lack of a spare rake are being blamed for the delay.
On Saturday, in a record of sorts, the 10.40pm train was rescheduled for 8.40am the next day (Dec 24), logging a delay of nearly 10 hours.
Train delay: Railway officials blame rake shortage, Delhi fog
The delay, railway officials suggest, was due to shortage of rakes and the pairing train (Karnataka Express), which arrived late from New Delhi due to foggy conditions. With rescheduling becoming frequent, there is also a sudden dip in the number of passengers taking the Bengaluru-Chennai Mail.
TP Lokesh from Karnataka Railway Vedike, a rail advocacy group, said the spare rake for Chennai Mail was taken back after Vasco Da Gama Express suffered extensive damage in an accident in Uttar Pradesh. "The railways should provide a permanent spare rake for the Chennai Mail to avoid unnecessary delays. It was once a jam-packed train but now passengers are being forced to cancel tickets and depend on private buses."
Lokesh said that the spare rake was provided earlier to ensure that the Chennai Mail was in time, but the provision became unviable as fog or an accident could still cause a delay. "Of late, the Mail reaches Chennai only by afternoon whereas its scheduled time is 4:35am, forcing us to depend on other means of transport," said Priyanka S, a regular commuter between Bengaluru and Chennai. Krishna Prasad, a rail activist, pointed out that the year-end is seeing a huge demand for tickets. But frequent rescheduling has left people travelling between the two cities to fend for themselves, he said.
Senior divisional commercial manager (Bangalore Railway Division
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