INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
KALABURAGI: In a bizarre incident, a train scheduled to stop by platform 1 at Kalaburagi station on Sunday morning did not turn up, leaving
What they did not know was that the said train had passed through another platform already
Railway authorities have now admitted that they 'forgot' to make the announcement regarding the change in schedule.Uday Baligar, Rehman
Patel and numerous other passengers, who had booked their tickets to Secunderabad, told TOI that they were waiting for train number 17319
Hubballi-Secunderabad Express on platform 1 from 5.45am, where it passes through regularly
"We were watching the display where train's arrival was announced as 6.32am but there was no information regarding the platform number
Then it was rescheduled to 6.42am, again without displaying the platform number
By 6.45am, the train's name was removed from the electronic display
When we asked the staff, they said it had already passed via another platform," they said.According to sources at Central Railway, the said
train arrived at Kalaburagi station by 6.35am and departed by 6.44am
As hundreds of passengers rushed to his office, station manager PA Nargundakar said the staff had 'forgotten' to make the announcement and
assured he will look into the matter
He apologised and arranged to send the passengers by another train number - 12701 Hussain Sagar Express
"We were supposed to reach Secunderabad but reached Hyderabad Deccan by afternoon," the passengers added.They also alleged that though they
had booked their tickets in advance, they had to travel standing - at the mercy of TTEs and passengers of Hussain Sagar express
They said they had to take buses from Hyderabad Deccan to Secunderabad, as both cities are located at a distance of 8 km
"Altogether, it was a harrowing experience that caused us mental and physical agony," they shared.Sunil Kulkarni, a railway activist in
Kalaburagi termed it 'an unprecedented incident' and said this show the negligence of Solapur railway division of Central Railway
Shivraj Manaspure, CPRO, Central Railway, Mumbai, said the issue will be looked into.
