Decision on restarting services to be taken tomorrow n Thousands of passengers stranded
Trains stranded at a railway station near flooded tracks after heavy rains in Chennai (Photo: PTI)
Bengaluru: Thousands of passengers from Bengaluru city who had reserved tickets to go to various parts of Tamil Nadu, were shocked on Thursday to find South Western Railway withdrawing all its trains, including those originating from Mysuru, to Chennai.
There won’t be any trains even on Friday. Meanwhile, not a single train from Chennai arrived in the city on Thursday, with train tracks inundated by flood water.
According to the passengers, trains were cancelled from morning, following reports of heavy floods. "Thousands of passengers were waiting at all the major stations, expecting trains. But SWR cancelled the trains as a precautionary measure," informed an officer familiar with the reasons for the decision.
According to the SWR officials, all the trains scheduled for Chennai and nearby towns, were cancelled following an advisory from Railway officials in Chennai.
"No trains have either arrived or departed from the city to Chennai. A decision on restarting the services will be taken on Saturday, based on the real-time report about the train tracks and availability of platforms in Chennai station," he explained.KSRTC operates additional buses
Meanwhile, KSRTC is operating additional buses to Chennai on Thursday night to enable the city residents living in Chennai to return to the city safely. These buses will reach Chennai on Friday morning.
As flights and train services were cancelled, additional buses are being deployed to Chennai to ensure that people can return without any hassles.
“Every night, KSRTC operates around 43 buses to Chennai. But this figure will go up to around 50 buses on Thursday night," explained an officer.
"There is no demand for Chennai tickets. But there is a heavy rush for tickets to Bengaluru city. KSRTC will operate additional buses as per the passenger rush," he concluded.
Control room set up
The state government has set up an Emergency Control Room with toll-free number 1070. The Control room has received 150 calls enquiring about 400 stranded people from Karnataka, so far.
Download the all new Deccan Chronicle app for Android and iOS to stay up-to-date with latest headlines and news stories in politics, entertainment, sports, technology, business and much more from India and around the world.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
Next Story
