Railways cancels more passenger trains as power crisis worsens in country

The total number of trips called off across northern railway and south east central railway has reached 1081.

The railways ministry halted more passenger trains on Thursday, reacting to the power crisis across India and days after the government said that it will not make such cancellations.

With the latest, the total number of trips cancelled across northern railway (NR) and south east central railway (SECR) has reached 1081, government officials said. Last week, the government had cancelled 753 trips of 42 trains.

“1041 trips of 40 trains operating in the SECR zone will be cancelled for movement of coal rakes up to 24 May. This includes previously cancelled trains,” a railways official said. Two pairs of cancelled trains in NR will be restored by Sunday.

The cancelled trains consist of 499 trips of mail/express trains and 582 trips of passenger special trains. The national transporter is also prioritising the movement of coal rakes over all passenger trains, barring Rajdhani Express and Shatabdi Express.

The move comes on the back of many passengers already facing problems due to the sudden cancellation of trains earlier. Amid the backlash from unhappy passengers and opposition leaders, the ministry on Sunday had said that it did not see the need to cancel any more trains as coal supply had stepped up.

Despite the measures taken by Railways, data on the National Power Portal suggests that coal stocks at 165 power units across India remains as bleak as earlier, with actual coal stock being 32 per cent of the normative requirement.

The average coal stock stands at 7.6 days, which was 7.7 last week. With little improvement, the average stock is very close to the critical level of seven days.

More than 11 states and union territories are reportedly staring at a severe power crisis, with state governments already resorting to power cuts amid a sizable increase in power demand and a supply crunch influenced by several factors.