52 goods trains chug off

Tribune News Service

Moga, October 23

The goods trains were back on track in the Ferozepur Railway Division after the farm organisations conceded to partially withdraw their ongoing agitation from the railway tracks.

At least 52 goods trains transported essential items and other goods to and fro in the state. Railway officials allowed the movement of trains so that the common man did not have to face any inconvenience owing to the shortage of essential commodities.

As per details available, the farm organisations had withdrawn their protests from 26 points to facilitate the movement of goods trains. However, both passenger and express trains are still off the track in the Ferozepur Railway Division.

Rajesh Aggarwal, Divisional Railway Manager, Ferozepur Division, said the goods trains had been restarted, keeping various safety measures in mind, to bring the economy back on track.

He said of the trains that had restarted, 17 were goods trains, one foodgrains rake, 10 container rakes, one gypsum rake, one vivid and four empty rakes of coal and iron loading. Besides, 35 rakes had been sent out of the divison. The operation of other goods trains was running as per the schedule, he added.

A couple of days back, the Federation of Indian Exports Organisations (FIEO) said the ongoing protests by farmers across the state against the farm Acts had immensely affected businesses across the state.

President of FIEO Sharad Kumar Saraf in a statement emailed to The Tribune said the movement of containers, both by trains and road, from various locations in the country was halted, posing a setback not only to the domestic industry but also to the overall exporting community.

He hoped that the decision of the Railways to restart goods trains in the festive season would not only bring back the economy on track, but would also give relief to the industrial sector, which had been under pressure in the wake of the pandemic and ongoing protests by farmers across the state.

Saraf said a large number of import containers were either stuck up at various ports or were in transit. Over 4,000 export containers containing goods worth over Rs 2,000 crore were blocked at inland container depots due to the ongoing crisis, he added.