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Stranded passengers wait for the elusive train

Syed Firdaus Ashraf in Mumbai

Rain gods threw a wet blanket on Manoj Kori's plans to attend his brother's wedding in New Delhi on June 30.

"I am sitting at Mumbai Central Station for the last 16 hours and I am not even sure whether I will be able to make it to my brother's wedding," Manoj told rediff.com after heavy rains on June 26 destroyed two bridges near Boisor (Gujarat), stranding thousands of passengers travelling on the Western Railways route.

Kori's train was supposed to leave for New Delhi at 9:30 pm on June 27. Now the railway authorities have told him that his train would leave on Friday, June 28.

"The railway authorities told me to come by 11:30 am on Friday as the train would leave by 12:30 pm. But to my surprise, they told me that the train will leave by 8:30 pm now," Manoj says.

Kori never imagined that he would stand on the brink of missing the last wedding in his family.

When suggested that he could have tried the railway enquiry phone numbers to know the exact timing of his train's departure, Kori shoots back: "Have you ever tried that number? It is impossible to get through. And I didn't want to take a risk of being left out if train would have left at 12:30 am. So, I came along with my family. Now, I only hope the train leaves on time."

"There is no fan, no clean toilets, there are flies all around. This place is stinking and we are sitting here like animals," Manoj's sister, Chandravati Kori, says ruefully.

Kori isn't the only one suffering.

Jaganpreet Singh (5), his sister Manpreet Kaur (7) had come to Mumbai from Amritsar to enjoy their summer holidays.

Ask the gregarious kids what they loved most about Mumbai, they shout in unison, "Chowpatty Beach."

"And the place they hate most is Mumbai Central," interrupts their father Santosh Singh. "We were supposed to leave Mumbai yesterday. But for the past 24 hours we are here. These children are tired of waiting. And, I don't know how long we will have to wait."

Premlata Kumar, a tourist from Jaipur, had a confirmed ticket for the Mumbai-Jaipur Express. However, the train was cancelled and she had to wait for 24 hours without any clue which train will take her to Jaipur.

"Now, I am planning to go by Paschim Express and get down at Sawai Madhavpur. From there, I will hire a taxi to Jaipur," Premlata says hopefully.

But the disruption of rail traffic has come as boon to the private taxi operators, who have jacked up their rates to exorbitant levels

Raju Bhaiyya, one of many taxi operators outside the station, is busy shouting, "Surat Rs 500 per head."

Sagar Varolia, a third year Mechanical Engineering student from Regional Engineering College in Surat said, "I had gone for a holiday at Mahableshwar. But I am stuck here now. And there are no trains which are going via Surat." His friend Mehul Vakhoria adds, "We are planning to go by road to Surat as it just a drive of five hours, though the drivers are charging exorbitant rates."

However, there are other passengers who refuse to be fleeced. Gracy Bethel a teacher from Surat, is busy arguing with Raju Bhaiyya, "Why are you fleecing people when they are suffering? Don't you have any humanity? We are stranded and you are only concerned making money. I will not pay more than Rs 200."

"I slept at Mumbai Central Station last night. I am alone. And, I don't want to be fleeced by these private taxi operators. The least the government can do for us in such situation is start a bus service," Gracy says, as she waits for her elusive train.

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