Title - When trains halted in their tracks

Around 2.35 am on Monday, when the northern transmission grid failed, trains halted wherever they were across the Northern Railway and North Central Railway networks.

“A total 100 trains were affected due to the grid failure,” said Neeraj Sharma, CPRO of Northern Railway, while NC Railway, which covers the Delhi-Howrah line, put the figure at 70 within its network.

“All trains were stranded wherever they were. But by 8 pm, the services of almost all mail and express train services in the Delhi division had been restored. Goods train services are in the process of being restored,” Sharma said.

The delays varied from place to place. The trains affected included Rajdhani and Duronto expresses, whose stranding had a cascading effect on a number of other trains.

“Nearly 30 up trains and 40 down trains were affected. Most of the Rajdhani Express trains were stranded between Kanpur and Mughalsarai. The Shatabdi Express from Kanpur to Delhi could not start on time,” said Sandeep Mathur, CPRO of NC Railway.

NC Railway restored power supply only around 6.15am. “Alternative arrangements were made from Bihar through NTPC, following which the trains began running,” said Mathur.

With the power failure having affected all of north India, including Northern Railway, little else could have been done by way of providing an alternative, Mathur said.