ACs turned off, no official info: Gujarat man's harrowing experience as train cancelled mid-route amid rain
By Shweta Kumari | First Published Aug 27, 2024, 3:25 PM ISTA Gujarat professor, who was travelling on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Tejas Express, had a harrowing experience when his train got cancelled mid-route in Vadodara due to heavy rain. Railways has reacted to the matter.
We all have heard about trains getting cancelled/delayed but we’ve hardly ever heard about a train getting cancelled mid-route! Yes, a professor in Gujarat who boarded the Tejas Express from Mumbai narrated his harrowing experience during his journey to Ahmedabad after his train got abruptly cancelled due to heavy rain across the state.
Prithwiraj Mukherjee, Associate Professor of Marketing at Ahmedabad University took to X (formerly Twitter) to share his harrowing experience on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Tejas Express.
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According to his post, the train got cancelled mid-route. He explained that due to heavy rain in Gujarat, the train was cancelled midway at Vadodara. The passengers on the Tejas Express were stranded at Vadodara junction for several hours on August 27.
The worst part was that the AC was turned off, causing suffocation for the passengers. “Faults can happen. My biggest anger was the way we were treated. They literally tried to smoke us out of the compartment by turning off the air source,” Mukherjee said in his lengthy post.
Mukherjee also reiterated the "preferential treatment to Vande Bharat" in his post and said that a Vande Bharat train which was also on the same route as Tejas Express, had already reached Ahmedabad. "If the Vande Bharat can go from Vadodara to Ahmedabad, why cant other trains? Not sure what’s going to happen."
Take a look at the post
Dear all. I am on the Tejas Express 82901. Got on at Mumbai Central at 1545 and should have reached Ahmedabad Junction at 2215. Due to rain, the train has been canceled at Vadodara.
No official intimation. Just AC switched off. While rain has affected service, the Vande Bharat,…
Throughout his journey, not less than a nightmare, Mukherjee kept sharing updates about the conditions of railways. Later shared an update, informing about his safe return to his home.
I finally reached home about half an hour ago. Thanks for your wishes. More than 100 fellow passengers on Tejas and several more from other less-fancy trains faced my plight. Many were new mothers, senior citizens and physically challenged. I hope they reach(ed) home safely. The…
— peeleraja (@peeleraja)Railways responds
Mukherjee tagged Railway Seva on this post to which they responded by asking the details of the trains and his seat.
1. Water was flowing above the track ,Vande Bharat higher clearance and advanced prevention of water ingress into the the electrical equipment allows this train to run in deep water even more than 200 MM water above the track .
— RailwaySeva (@RailwaySeva)In the comparison with Vande Bharat, they explained that Vande Bharat has higher clearance than Tejas Express allowing it to clear the railway tracks despite the heavy rainfall.
Other Locomotives of trains (other than Vande Bharat ) don't have such clearance and can't be operated after water level above track is more than 150 mm. (2/2)
— RailwaySeva (@RailwaySeva)Mukherjee's post gained attraction and hundreds of people commented on his post about Tejas Express getting cancelled mid-route.
I was in vande Bharat and was shocked to see this. Was continuously looking at other trains location as well. I don't know why all trains can't run in water logged areas but vande Bharat was moving at a walking mans speed inthis water logged area.
This was at Bajva. pic.twitter.com/cz6iev4rae
Many of them expressed their disappointment with Indian Railways’ management, while others tried to explain the difference between Tejas Express and Vande Bharat trains.
This is a common practice by railways these days, and then some gyaani will land on your TL and give gyaan how VB is technically superior; hence, it can go while others can’t.
— Tushar (@tushar)Some people travelling on the same route also shared their harrowing experiences.
Scary!!!
It takes one day of heavy rain to bring out all our fault lines to the fore.
Vadodara did experience almost unprecedented heavy rainfall today. But Railways is expected to be prepared for this situation. Frequent communication is essential to avoid panic in passengers.
Rain situation in Gujarat
Parts of Gujarat including Vadodara have witnessed severe waterlogging on Tuesday after incessant rain for several days. Three people have died in rain-related incidents, while nearly 20,000 people were evacuated to safer places.
Vadodara received 26 cm of rainfall on Monday, IMD said. Apart from Vadodara, Rajkot received 19 cm, Ahmedabad 12 cm, Bhuj and Naliya received 8 cm, Okha and Dwarka received 7 cm while Porbandar received 5 cm of rainfall.
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