Passengers waiting for the Hubballi-Secunderabad Express at Kalaburagi railway station on Sunday morning missed the train due to the station officials' failure to announce the arrival and departure of the train, as well as its platform information, according to a report in The Times of India. Railway officials admitted that they 'forgot' to announce the change in schedule.
According to the passengers, the Hubballi-Secunderabad Express was supposed to arrive at Kalaburagi railway station at 5:57 am and depart within three minutes at 6:00 am. However, the train was delayed by 32 minutes, as notified by the railway authorities through an LED screen display. The passengers were waiting in the corridor at platform No 1, but the train arrived on another platform and left for Secunderabad after stopping for a few minutes.
The passengers waiting for the train were not aware of when the train arrived and left, as there were no announcements made. They only came to know that the train had left the station after the announcement for the next train on the same route, the Hussain Sagar Express, was made.
The train had arrived at Kalaburagi station at 6:35 am and left by 6:44 am, The Times of India quoted sources as saying. A few passengers met the station manager and expressed their displeasure at the state of affairs. The manager said the staff had forgotten to make the announcement and assured that he would look into the matter. He then sent the travelers to Secunderabad on another train, the Hussain Sagar Express.
The passengers said that they were supposed to reach Secunderabad but ended up reaching Hyderabad Deccan by afternoon. Some travelers also alleged that although they had booked their tickets in advance, they had to travel standing at the mercy of travelling ticket examiners (TTEs) and passengers of Hussain Sagar Express.Passengers also said they had to take buses to reach Secunderabad from Hyderabad Deccan, as the two cities are 8 kilometers apart.
Chief Public Relations Officer of Central Railway, Mumbai, Shivraj Manaspure was quoted as saying that the issue will be looked into.