Rail Roko Protest by farmers at Shambu disrupts 105 trains

Railway refunds Rs.25.09 lac to 4,765 passengers from April 17 to 21

Ferozepur, April 22,l 2024:  The farmers protesting near Punjab’s Shambu since February 13 have now started blocking the railway tracks which entered the 6th day today and the railway has to reschedule 105 trains.  This has caused a lot of inconvenience to the passengers, who had planned their journeys, for some personal, social and official tours.

So far as the demands of the farmers are concerned, they are demanding the release of three activists who were arrested during the ongoing protest and have refused to vacate the railway track till they are released. Apart from this, the farmer’s protest at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders is under the banner of the KMM and the SKM (non-political) and also demanding a law to fix a minimum support price (MSP) for their crops and concessions, including the waiving of farm loans.

The Ambala Division has been trying to run maximum trains by diverting through other routes, but there are track-related limitations due to which the trains are being cancelled. More than 500 trains have been affected since the agitation started, and about 100 trains are affected daily. Efforts are being made to minimise passenger inconvenience, said the railway official.

Among 105 trains affected, the railway has Short-terminated 2 trains, short-originated 3 trains, diverted 60 trains, and cancelled 41 trains.  The trains passing through Shambu railway station have to be rescheduled in the event of blockage of tracks by the farmers.

The trains affected are from stations Bermer, Darbanga, Amritsar, Jammu Tawi, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra, Jayanagar, C.Shivaji Maharaja T. Pune, New Delhi Saharsa, Varanasi, Delhi Sarai Rohilla, Kolkota, and others.

Meanwhile, the railway has also to refund Rs.25.09,310  lac to 4,765 passengers from April 17 to April 21.