Clear weather fails to undo fog effect on trains

Ludhiana: Several trains cancelled because of severe cold wave and dense fog conditions in the initial weeks of January remain cancelled, much to the chagrin of daily commuters and long-distance passengers.Even though weather conditions have improved, many trains have not been resumed, leaving passengers confused.
According to commuters, several important trains have remained cancelled on most days since the cold wave began. These include the Nangal Dam Express, Jalandhar City Intercity Express, Amritsar Express, New Delhi Vande Bharat Express, Amritsar-Ajmer Express, Hisar-Ludhiana Express, Jammu Tawi Duronto Express, Ludhiana-Churu Passenger, and several other short and long distance trains. Many of the trains are crucial for daily travel, business, employment, education, etc.During peak winter, foggy conditions severely affected train operations across the region, leading to frequent delays and cancellations for safety reasons. However, passengers want to know why these trains have not been restored despite clearer weather for days now.Regular commuters say prolonged suspension has disrupted their daily routines and forced them to rely on costly or time-consuming alternatives. Aman, who commutes between Ludhiana and Jalandhar for work, expressed his frustration over the continued cancellation of the Jalandhar City Intercity Express. "I used to travel daily on the intercity train to reach my workplace. Its cancellation was already very inconvenient during the cold wave, but it is surprising and disappointing that it is still not running," he said. "The railways must resume all cancelled trains at the earliest," he added.Sharandeep Singh, a resident who frequently travels to Anandpur Sahib, pointed out that the Nangal Dam Express is one of the very few direct train options between Ludhiana and Anandpur Sahib. "For many days, I have been waiting for this train to resume. I check the train status every other day because I prefer travelling by train, but it continues to show cancelled. During foggy weather, cancellations were understandable. But now, when the weather has improved, there seems to be no clear reason for keeping the train cancelled," he lamented.Deputy station superintendent Prem Mittal said the trains would be resumed from March 1. There is a period of cancellations every year and announcements are made from headquarters. Some trains on Jammu route are cancelled due to ongoing development work along tracks.