Regular gatherings of protesters on railway tracks to press for their demands have led to cancellation of 2,500 trains, with an increase of 900 additional cancellations in the Delhi Division of the Northern Railway in the financial year that ended on March 31. Financial year 2015-16 witnessed 2,500 cancellations of passenger and goods trains due to several agitations held on railway tracks.
Divisional railway manager Arun Arora told this newspaper that due to the protests and agitations on railway tracks, the Delhi division had reported total cancellation of 2,500 trains an incremental increase of 900 more cancellations in the last financial year.
“Apart from cancellations, we witnessed short terminations, partial cancellations or diversion of trains due to the agitation on tracks. These 2,500 trains include both passenger and goods trains. The cancellations caused huge suffering to passengers and also loss of revenue to the railways,” added Mr Arora.
Due to several operational and reasons like weather, about 1,600 trains, which also include both passenger and goods trains, got cancelled during financial year 2014-15, according to Mr Arora.
Sources in the Delhi division said that major protests like Jat and Gujjar agitations and farmers protest in Punjab led to massive increase in the number of train cancellations. “Everyone knows during these agitations, protesters completely blocked or camped on railway tracks, stopping all rail traffic,” a source explained.
A senior railway official said that increased cancellations of 900 trains compared to the corresponding previous year mean at a conservative estimate over a 10 lakh people suffered due these agitations. “It is impossible to calculate exact number of passengers who suffered due to the cancellations on incremental increase in cancellations in the last financial year, but if we estimate minimum around 2,000 passengers in a train, the number will go above 10 lakh,” the official said.
Despite increase in the number of cancellations, revenue earnings of the Delhi division did not go down. “Despite all odds, revenue increased by around three per cent with total earning crossing above Rs 8,000 crore in the last financial year,” said Mr Arora.
