Farmer Protest (Punjab) – Trains get back to track in Punjab

The train services were partially restored today in the state, exactly two months after they were discontinued on September 24 in the wake of ‘rail roko’ agitation by farmer unions in protest against the Central farm laws.

The Railways has first resumed freight and goods train movement in the state. The passenger train services would be restored in a phased manner over the next few days, starting from the night of November 23, 2020.

Tentative plan ready

1. A tentative plan to resume 40 mail and express trains has been chalked by the Northern Railway.
2. As per official sources, 14 trains would remain canceled till further orders and 39 partially canceled or short-terminated.
3. DRM (Ferozepur Division) Rajesh Aggarwal mentioned the plan was subject to track safety and clearance to be received by the respective divisions, besides from the state government and security units.
4. 39 trains will be partially canceled and short-terminated.

According to DRM, In their division, a total of 17 trains would be restored, including eight for Punjab and nine for Jammu and Katra. The Railways has put a maximum speed limit of 60 kmph for many security reasons. The DRM said the rail tracks were checked throughout the week by the inspection teams. “After finding the inspection reports satisfactory, the trains were resumed”, stated some other official sources, adding it would take a few days for the rail services to limp back to normalcy. The DRM said the “Golden Temple” Express from Mumbai Central to Amritsar, which was earlier being short-terminated at Ambala Cantt Jn. would come to Amritsar very soon. Similarly, the train service from Amritsar-Haridwar will also be resumed shortly. Similarly, the other trains, including the Ferozepur-Dhanbad Express from Ferozepur to Lucknow via Saharanpur will start.

The other trains will be resumed by end of this week, which includes Paschim Deluxe Express COVID-19 Special, Saryu-Yamuna COVID-19 Special, Amritsar Shatabadi COVID-19 Special, Dhanbad-Ferozepur COVID-19 Special, Nagpur-Amritsar COVID-19 Special, Begampura Festival Special, and Gorakhpur Jammu-Tawi Amarnath Festival Special. “As per the availability of parcels, the number of goods trains will be increased,” he said.