Today the railway department issued a statement saying “The Shatabdi Express will not be covering the route kaka to Delhi via Chandigarh, from May 9”. They also added to the statement saying “The decision has been taken due to low occupancy amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in the region”. The announcement comes days after the afternoon Shatabdi Express between Chandigarh and New Delhi was suspended from May 1.
This time the Northern Railways has also suspended both the morning and the evening train.
The fresh move covers 13 pairs of trains that have been canceled by the Northern Railways till further orders. The Una-New Delhi Jan Shatabdi Express, which passes through Chandigarh, and Hemkunt Express, which goes from Rishikesh to Katra via Chandigarh, have also be suspended. Even two Kalka-Shimla trains have been canceled.
Chandigarh railway station superintendent JP Singh said, “The decision has been taken due to low occupancy amid a surge in Covid-19 cases in the region.”
Sharing the statistics he also mentioned that occupancy in non-AC trains to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar is still considerable, though it has dropped drastically in all other trains, he said.
