The cancellation of many Delhi-bound Mail trains scheduled to arrive at New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin stations between 4 am and 2 pm on October 10 has left passengers from Uttar Pradesh in a fix.
A long queue of passengers was seen at Lucknow's Charbagh Railway Station, waiting to check alternative travel arrangements, even as many were checking with taxi operators for a road trip.
A cursory check at other railway stations such as Prayagraj and Gorakhpur revealed a similar picture.
Anjan Ghosh, a resident of Prayagraj, was to reach Gurugram for a medical check-up, but the cancellation has changed everything.
"My travel agent informed me that the Prayagraj Express (Prayagraj to New Delhi train) is also cancelled now. An increase in airfare has made domestic flights even more expensive. Road travel is both costly, and there is no guarantee that, given the road congestion, we will be allowed entry in Delhi," he said, indicating plans to reschedule his medical check-up.
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According to a Railway Board circular, trains departing from their originating stations after 2 pm on October 9 and scheduled to arrive at either New Delhi or Hazrat Nizamuddin stations between 4 am and 2 pm on October 10 have been cancelled.
The Railways cited unexpected road traffic between the two stations as the reason for cancellations.
The North Central Railway has advised passengers to check the status of their trains via the railway helpline (139), the NTES app, or official railway information channels before commencing their journey to avoid any inconvenience.
Samarth Gupta, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager of Northern Railway's Lucknow Division, said that certain trains originating from the Lucknow Division will remain canceled on October 10 due to the likelihood of severe road traffic disruptions in the areas surrounding New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin railway stations.
He said train numbers 12229 (Lucknow - New Delhi Lucknow Mail) and 12429 (Lucknow - New Delhi AC Superfast Express), both scheduled for October 9, have been cancelled.
Shivam Sharma, Chief Public Relations Officer of North Central Railway, told PTI that approximately 5,000 people have missed their trains over the past two days due to heavy congestion around New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin railway stations.
He added that passengers are facing significant difficulties.
Railway officials contacted by PTI refused to comment if the Saturday's protest by the Cockroach Janata Party demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar was the reason for these cancellations.
The Delhi Police have urged the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to shut 57 metro stations to scupper the movement of youths who may be coming to join the protest. This has inconvenienced those with pre-booked train tickets and needing to travel for job interviews or medical check-ups.
Himanshu Kumar Srivastava and Abhishek Singh, for example, had their job interviews lined up at a private firm in Delhi on Saturday.
Both appeared anxious as they claimed their repeated requests to have their interviews postponed to Monday weren't accepted by the company, ostensibly due to "busy schedule" of the company bosses.
"Chances of us reaching Delhi by Friday night or Saturday morning are thin. Our train tickets for Delhi-bound Lucknow Mail train on October 9 have been cancelled," they said, adding road and air travel were the only options left.
"We are checking road travel options first, but given the fact that railways cited heavy congestion in Delhi on Saturday as the reason for train cancellation, it remains to be seen if we will get to Delhi on time, provided we get a taxi," they told PTI.
As for air travel, many airlines have revised ticket costs, making the journey costlier.
"I am trying to contact my other friends, who have to reach Delhi by Sunday so that we all could travel together," Himanshu said.
Prashant Singh, who works in a private firm in Lucknow's Sarojini Nagar area, had taken privilege leave in advance. He had a confirmed AC II ticket for Ghaziabad, but he is now reviewing his travel plan.
"I was planning to reach my native village in Ghaziabad district before the onset of Sharadiya Navratra. For this, I had applied for a PL in advance, and also had a confirmed ticket," Prashant said.
Vijay Kashyap, a tea seller in Aminabad, was to travel to Faridabad for a family function. He was looking forward to meeting his cousins at a family function in Faridabad.
Taxi operators Ashish Pandey and Aashu Dixit said that following the cancellation of many Delhi-bound trains, they have been flooded with calls from passengers who want to reach Delhi and NCR by Saturday morning, but have very limited options.
"Since Friday morning itself we have been flooded with calls from people wanting to go to Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad. This surge in road travel requests is rather uncommon at this time of the year,” they said. “We have recalled several taxis, which were undergoing servicing and maintenance in various workshops," they added.
They parried a query about whether they are charging more than usual from anxious travellers.
Manoj Pal, a taxi driver, said his weekly off was cancelled by his travel agency due to a surge in demand.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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