After Sayaji express was cancelled, nearly 350 passengers were made to travel in packed Kutch express, already ferrying 400, till Bhuj

THE derailment of the Flying Rani express beyond Surat station in Gujarat led to a nightmarish ride for 350 passengers who were supposed to travel from Bandra Terminus to Bhuj in the Sayaji Nagari express.

The Sayaji express could not make it to Mumbai because of the derailment and the passengers were asked to board the packed Kutch express and travel to Surat around four hours away where they could board their train.


Sayaji Express could not make it to Mumbai because of the derailment and the passengers were asked to board the packed Kutch Express

When the Kutch express, carrying nearly double the passengers than it had seats for, rolled into Surat, however, the passengers were informed that the Sayaji express had left the station ten minutes ago.

"Despite having reserved tickets, we had to first wait for hours and were then made to board the Kutch express, which had no room.
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We took the railways up on their offer because we were assured that we could board our train from Surat, but when we reached there, we were told that the train had left," said Jayesh Kesaria from the city, who was travelling to Bhuj.

The Kutch express, which was supposed to leave Mumbai Central at 5.10 pm, left at 6, leading to a delay in its arrival at Surat.
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"The railways did not bother to make our train wait for us at Surat.
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Pulling the chain was also of no use as the officials told us they could not do anything. Old women and kids are also suffering because of the packed train."

RPF's take

When this reporter informed the state RPF about the passengers' plight, officials manning the control room said they could not do anything as the train had already crossed into Gujarat.

Asked if they could contact the RPF in Gujarat, they refused. Senior officials in the railway could not be reached for comment.