HYDERABAD: Thousands of train passengers travelling through Telangana are likely to face a tough time on Thursday as the South Central Railway (SCR) has cancelled 31 express trains and diverted hundreds of other services in the wake of the proposed 'Rail roko' protest of the Telangana Joint Action Committee ( TJAC).
Besides the 31 express trains, the SCR has cancelled 116 passenger trains, 51 DHMUs and MMTS services between Hyderabad/Secunderabad-Falaknuma. Similarly, 23 express trains have been rescheduled, while 23 North-South trains travelling through the Telangana region have been diverted through alternative routes. Also, 20 long-distance trains, terminating in the city, would be terminated at a suitable railway junction outside the Telangana region.
Some of the cancelled trains include Balharshah- Secunderabad-Balarshah Bhagyanagar Express, Secunderabad-Guntur-Secunderabad Golconda Express, Visakhapatnam-Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam Garibrath.
The diverted trains via Wadi-Guntakal include: 12655/6 Ahemedabad-Chennai-Ahmedabad Navjivan Express, 12625/6 New Delhi-Tiruvanantapuram-New Delhi Kerala Express, 11019/20 Mumbai -Bhubaneswar Konark Express, 12615 Madras-New Delhi GT Express, 12621 Madras-New Delhi Tamil Nadu Express, 12429 Bangalore-Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express, 12649 Yesvantpur-Nizamuddin Karnataka Samparkkranti Express, 12708 Nizamuddin-Tirupati AP Samparkkranti, 12434 Nizamuddin-Chennai Rajdhani Express 12862Nizamuddin-Visakhapatnam Dakshin Link Express via Nagapur, Titlagarh, 12295 Bangalore-Patna Sangamitra Express via Duvvada, Kharagpur, 12804 Nizamuddin-Visakhapatnam Swarna Jayanti Express.
Some of the rescheduled trains are: 12723 Hyderabad-New Delhi AP Express to 6 pm, 12604 Hyderabad-Chennai to 8 pm, 12734 Secunderabad-Tirupati to 11.45 pm, 12704 Secunderabad-Howrah to 8.30 pm, 12728 Hyderabad-Visakhapatnam express to 8.45 pm, 12760 Hyderabad-Chennai express to 9.30 pm, 17429 Hyderabad-Tirupati express to 7.25 pm, 12785 Kacheguda-Bangalore express to 7.30 pm, 17652 Kacheguda-Chennai- Egmore to 7 pm, 12285 Secunderabad-H Nizamuddin Duronto express to 5.45 pm,16031 Chennai-Jammu Tawi would be rescheduled by at least four hours, while 12219 Mumbai-Secunderabad Duronto would be rescheduled by eight hours.
Due to diversions and cancellations, passengers are likely to face hardships. Puli Praveen Kumar, a Bangalore-based software engineer, booked a ticket on Karnataka Sampark Kranti to reach Hyderabad to attend a job interview on Thursday. However, the rail roko forced him to reschedule his interview. "My interview was scheduled at 10 am at Hi-Tec City on Thursday. Several trains, including the Sampark Kranti, were diverted via Guntakal. By taking a bus from Guntakal, I am not sure about reaching Hyderabad in time for the interview. Luckily, the HR personnel of the Hyderabad office agreed to reschedule the interview for next week. I hope nothing happens then," Praveen said.
Similar is the plight of Ch Vamsi Krishna, senior manager at Moldtek Technologies, who had to cancel his trip to Guntur by Intercity Express on Thursday morning. "I had to attend a family event. After the train cancellation, I tried booking a bus ticket, but all are full. Finally, I managed to secure a seat by shelling out Rs 500 in a non-AC bus," Krishna said.
APSRTC officials said 150 additional buses would operated from MGBS to Vijayawada and Warangal areas. Additional buses would be pressed into service from Nampally and Secunderabad railway stations to Vijayawada and Warangal as per requirement. Shuttle services would be operated from Secunderabad, Falaknuma, Nampally, Kacheguda, Lingampally to MGBS. Special services would operate from Nalgonda, Mahbubnagar, Tandur, Vikarabad to Hydearbad city and back. "Railway authorities will be in touch with RTC officials and a bus will be dispatched immediately wherever there is a requirement," RTC managing director B Prasada Rao said.
Deputy inspector-general (DIG), Railways, Atul Singh said about 500 Government Railway Police (GRP) and over 1,000 Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel with the assistance of local police would be patrolling railway stations and tracks to prevent any kind of trouble.
While majority of trains remained cancelled, the SCR has decided to operate MMTS services from Hyderabad and Secunderabad to Lingampally. The Cyberabad police have advised software employees working in the IT zone not to worry and attend duties as both MMTS and city bus services would be available. For information on movement of trains or any other information, log on to, www. scr.indianrailway.gov.in.