Special trains launched to handle the holiday rush are running over 36 hours behind schedule, leaving passengers stranded in intense heat and sparking widespread anger against railway authorities. As summer vacations begin and families set out for long-distance travel, what was meant to be a measure to ease the rush has instead added to the woes of travelers. Despite the Railways operating 21 special trains daily from Prayagraj Central Station to cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Gorakhpur, passengers are reporting extreme delays, with several trains arriving more than a day and a half late.
The unbearable heat and poor crowd management have made matters worse. Many passengers, including the elderly and children, have been forced to wait at stations for hours with little or no information about their trains.
Over the weekend, the mismanagement led to at least 535 ticket cancellations on Sunday and Monday alone, as frustrated passengers gave up waiting and looked for alternative travel options.
Passengers told stories of distress and helplessness. “I was supposed to travel to Delhi with my family. We waited for eight hours at the Central Station for the Darbhanga-Delhi Special. The heat was unbearable. Now we’ve decided to take a bus instead,†said Sonu Pal from Pratagraj, visibly exhausted.
Another passenger, Aditya from Panki, shared his frustration, “I had urgent work in Delhi. Couldn’t get a reservation in premium trains, so I booked a seat in the Darbhanga-Delhi Special. But when this too got delayed, I had no choice but to cancel the ticket and look for another train.†Several passengers complained that no proper announcements were made and they were left clueless on platforms without assistance. “We spent the night on the platform with children. There was no clear update on train timings. No one from the railway staff was available to assist,†said Kavita Sharma, a passenger traveling from Prayagraj to Mumbai.
Railway officials say the delays are largely due to operational priorities. Premium trains, zonal trains and regular services are given precedence over special trains, which results in special trains being repeatedly halted en route.
This has caused trains like the Raxaul-Udhna Special and Barauni-New Delhi Special to run late by over 29 to 38 hours on different days.
Trains such as the Jaynagar-Anand Vihar Special, Darbhanga-New Delhi Special and Bhagalpur-Gandhidham Special also arrived between six to sixteen hours late.
Responding to the mounting criticism, Himanshu Shukla, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager (DCM) of Prayagraj, said, “The long-distance trains are already delayed before entering our division. Once they arrive, we try to minimise further delays based on their running status. Instructions have been issued to the operations team to manage the situation efficiently.â€
However, passengers argue that these efforts are not visible on the ground. Many said the summer holiday rush was anticipated well in advance, yet there was little done to improve infrastructure or enhance communication at stations.
With no immediate solution in sight, travelers continue to face uncertainty, heat and discomfort.
