Passengers relieved as train services resume in Ludhiana

With goods and passenger trains resuming operations in the state after two months on Tuesday, it has come as a relief for passengers at the Ludhiana railway station, which is one of the biggest in the Ferozepur railway division.

Before the Covid outbreak, around 150 trains used to ply on the tracks of the Ludhiana railway station. But, this was reduced to around 20 amid spread of the infection.

On Tuesday, eight passenger trains arrived from other states, while 11 left from or through Ludhiana. Also, around a dozen goods trains crossed the Ludhiana station, which comes as a relief to industrialists, who were struggling to transport goods.

Residents who visited the railway station to board trains or book tickets said travelling by trains was cheaper and time-efficient compared to buses.

Gurdeep Singh, a visitor at the station, said, “I have a transport business in Ludhiana and Jharkhand. I had to visit Jharkhand, but could not, as train services were suspended in the last week of September. Travelling by bus would take almost three days and cost seven to eight times more. I have now booked a train ticket for November 27.”

Another visitor, Damanjit Singh, said, “I have booked a ticket for Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. However, no tickets are available for sleeper class. Travelling by bus is arduous as it will require changing a number of buses to reach the destination.”

Meanwhile, residents said more trains should resume their services soon. A passenger, Nitish, said, “I wanted to book a ticket for Gorakhpur, but was told that no tickets were available for that destination. Authorities should press more trains into service to bring back normalcy in railway transport.”

Ludhiana railway station director, Tarun Kumar, said, “The number of trains will increase gradually. Unreserved booking counters have been closed as per Covid guidelines issued by the government and residents can travel only by reserving their tickets in advance.”

Apart from reserving the seats through the ticker reservation counters at the railway station, residents can also reserve the seats through the IRCTC Rail Connect mobile app. Also, tickets can be booked through private licenced agencies.

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