140 passengers board two trains as services resume

Ajay Joshi

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, June 1

As the Ferozepur Railway Division today brought two express trains back on track after a halt of over two months, as many as 140 passengers from Jalandhar boarded the two trains from the city railway station.

While 94 passengers boarded the Amritsar-Haridwar Jan Shatabdi (02054), 46 passengers boarded Amritsar-Jainagar Saryu-Yamuna Express (04650), said Station Supervisor RK Behl. Both trains were chugged off from the station at 7.30 am and 1.15 pm, respectively.

Besides local residents, the passengers included Army personnel who were stuck in the city after the imposition of the lockdown and migrants, who could not receive confirmation messages for Shramik Special trains. The migrant workers said they spent around Rs 400-600 per seat.

Mohammad Swaraj, who works as an embroidery labourer at the Atari Market, said: “It’s been a roller-coaster journey during the lockdown. Sans work, we desperately wanted to go home but failed to fulfil the official formalities. Even after getting the Covid screening and registration done, we didn’t get a seat in the Shramik Special train.”

When we came to know that the railway services were resuming today, we went to an agent who booked our seats and gave us tickets for Saryu-Yamuna Express.”

Swaraj was accompanied by his four other friends who boarded the train to reach their village in Muzaffarpur.

After thermal screening at the entrance of the station, only reserved passengers, who had confirmed tickets and RAC, were allowed to travel by the trains. Moreover, police personnel and health staff ensured that all passengers were wearing masks and maintaining social distancing before boarding the train.

Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Rajesh Aggarwal said Amritsar-Haridwar Janshatabdi that originated from Amritsar carrying 284 passengers would conclude its journey in Roorkee after covering Beas, Jalandhar City, Phagwara, Ludhiana, Sirhind, Ambala Cantonment, Yamunanagar-Jagadhri and Saharanpur stations.

Saryu-Yamuna Express left for Jayanagar at 11:55 am from Amritsar. It would conclude its journey in Darbhanga, Bihar, after covering Jalandhar City, Phagwara, Ludhiana, Sirhind, Ambala Cantt, Old Delhi, Moradabad, Lucknow, and Chapa.

“According to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health, passengers without any Covid symptoms were allowed to travel in trains. The passengers can book their

tickets through the IRCTC website, ticketing agents, mobile apps and reservation counters at railway stations,” the DRM said.