Thousands stranded in Bengaluru as flights, trains, buses to Chennai cancelled
The airport, bus stands and railway stations in the city were crowded with the passengers waiting for transport
Bengaluru: Thousands of air, bus and train passengers, who had scheduled their travel to Chennai and other parts of the Tamil Nadu, were forced to cancel their trip following cancellation of several flights, buses and trains on Wednesday. The airport, bus stands and railway stations in the city were crowded with the passengers waiting for transport.
Passengers on the Bengaluru-Chennai Express, which left the city around 11 pm on Tuesday night, were stranded in Tiruvallur as the train terminated its service because of submerged tracks.
Mr Prakash Prabhu, a relative of one of the passengers on the train, said that he feared for the safety of his brother-in-law. “Till 11 am Wednesday, we did not receive any information whether he had reached Chennai,” he said. South Western Railway officials said that several trains were either cancelled or diverted.
Train No.12639 Chennai Central-Bengaluru City Brindavan Express leaving Chennai at 7.50 am, Train No.12640 Bengaluru City-Chennai Central Brindavan Express leaving Bengaluru City at 3 pm and Train No.22601 Chennai Central-Sri Satya Sai Prashanthi Nilayam Express leaving Chennai Central at 10 am were cancelled. Train No.12658 Bengaluru – Chennai Mail, Train No.16022 Mysuru–Chennai Kaveri Express and Train No.22681 Mysuru-Chennai Express were also cancelled.
Train No.16525 Kanyakumari-Bengaluru City Express scheduled to leave Kanyakumari at 10.30 am on Wednesday was rescheduled to 4 pm on Wednesday. Train No.22626 Bengaluru City-Chennai Double Decker Express scheduled to leave Bengaluru at 2.30 pm Wednesday was rescheduled to 6.45 pm because of late running of pairing Train No. 22625 Chennai-Bengaluru City Double Decker Express.
On Wednesday morning, all private bus operators were forced to cancel their services to Chennai. “The decision on night buses will be taken based on the feedback we receive from our agents in Chennai," one of the operators said.
KSRTC officials said that extra buses were being run to Chennai on Wednesday night. Following the cancellation of flights and trains from Chennai to the city, KSRTC has seen an increased demand. An officer said that every day, KSRTC operates 42-43 buses between Bengaluru and Chennai. But because of low traffic on Tuesday night, only 25 buses were operated. The KSRTC has incurred a loss of Rs 35 lakh because of floods in Chennai.
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