Life returns to normal at Ambala Cantt railway station

Ambala: Four trains halted at Ambala Cantt railway station on Monday, after services resumed after 72 days of lockdown imposed to check the coronavirus spread. The station received the Amritsar-Haridwar Jan Shatabdi, Amritsar-Jay Nagar Express, Haridwar-Amritsar Jan Shatabdi and the New Delhi-Una Jan Shatabdi.

“Passengers of 18 stations in Ambala division could be catered to with these four trains. Of these four trains, three passed through Sirhind, two each from Saharanpur and Yamunanagar-Jagadhari and one each from Ambala City, Rajpura, Gobindgarh, Khanna, Doraha, Chandigarh, Mohali, Kharar, Morinda, Ropar, Kiratpur, Anandpur Sahib, Nangaldam and Una Himachal railway stations,” a railway official said.

“We are seeing passengers after over two months. We have started storing packaged items and cleaning the stalls. With resumption of trains, our livelihood has returned,” claimed Ajay Rishi, owner of M/S Naveen Chander and Sons, who has several stalls at the Ambala Cantt station.

“Thermal screening of all passengers boarding and de-boarding has been ensured. Only those having confirmed reservations are allowed to enter the station and board the train. A list of all passengers de-boarded at the station is being provided to the district administration to ensure tracking if necessary,” said a railway official.

Ambala divisional railway manager Gurinder Mohan Singh said, “All passengers must adhere to hygiene protocols for the safety of fellow passengers. The division is committed to provide hassle-free and safe travel to all.”

Senior divisional commercial manager Hari Mohan told, “Proper arrangements have been made to restrict unauthorised movement at stations and passengers are advised to call on helpline number 138/139 for any assistance during the journey.”

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443 come by Jan Shatabdi, 2 sent to hosp

Chandigarh: Two of the 443 passengers who arrived by the Jan Shatabdi from Delhi on Monday were sent to hospital on arrival at the railway station by the health team, as per the heightened response to the novel coronavirus outbreak. The duo included a 22-year-old suspected Covid-19 patient and his mother, who had come from Patna and boarded the train at New Delhi.

The 1,500 passenger capacity train had only 1,026 on board, in keeping with the social distancing norm. While a few passengers faced problems inside the station as there were no porters, outside it was a struggle for most. There were no autorickshaws or any means of public transport barring a private cabs and passengers complained that they had not even called their family members at the station as they were not sure how long it would for medical screening.

Two more Shramik trains will ply from Chandigarh to Uttar Pradesh. The train for Mhow will depart on May 3 at 2pm and will have stoppages at Hardoi, Lucknow, Faizabad, Ambedkar Nagar-Akbarpur and Azamgarh. The second train will run on May 5 for Gorakhpur and will have halts at Najibadad, Sitapur and Gonda.