Karnal residents demand stoppage of Vande Bharat at city railway station
Residents of Karnal are eagerly waiting for the stoppage of the Vande Bharat Express (Chandigarh–Ajmer) at the Karnal railway station, which is one of the oldest stations in the region, established by the British in 1892. They have urged the government to take necessary steps for a stoppage, so that the passengers can take a fast and overnight journey to Mata Vaishno Devi in Katra, Jammu and Kashmir.
They said that six to seven Vande Bharat Express train run on the Delhi-Ambala route on a daily basis, but even after being an important station, Karnal does not get the facility of a stoppage of even a single Vande Bharat train.
The locals alleged that after the extension of Jammu Mail to Subedarganj in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, the passengers from Karnal and nearby districts are facing difficulty in securing reservation, as a majority of the seat quota has been allocated to Subedarganj. “It has become a tough job to book a seat to Katra on the Jammu Mail, as most of the seats are taken by the passengers boarding from Subedarganj. In such a situation, the stoppage of the Vande Bharat Express in Karnal is necessary for a speedy journey to Mata Vaishno Devi Darbar,” said Anshul Narang, a social activist, .
The issue of train stoppage has been raised on multiple platforms by the residents of the district, but to no avail so far, causing growing resentment. The locals said they had been waiting for long for the stoppages of important trains such as Shri Shakti and Vande Bharat, as a significant number of devotees from Karnal travelled to Vaishno Devi in Katra. However, due to the lack of stoppages, they are forced to travel to Ambala first to board the train, which wastes both time and fuel and causes inconvenience.
Vijay Khetarwal, a resident and social activist, said they had repeatedly raised the demand for the stoppage of these trains at the Karnal railway station, which was part of the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme announced by the Union Government. Recently, Karnal MLA Jagmohan Anand wrote a letter to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, requesting stoppages for the Vande Bharat and Shri Shakti trains. The minister responded with an assurance that the department concerned would conduct a detailed assessment of the demand.
“I have raised the genuine demand of the people of my constituency with Railway Minister Vaishnaw and Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. We are hopeful that the stoppages of these trains will soon be approved,” said Jagmohan Anand.
As per the residents, the Karnal station is a Class “A” station and a national heritage site, but it still lacks basic passenger amenities such as lifts and escalators, particularly needed by senior citizens and women. Locals also alleged that despite being one of the most profitable railway stations in the region, Karnal station was yet to be granted the junction status, which had been announced multiple times in previous railway Budgets.
Rajiv Kumar, another social activist, emphasised that lifts and escalators should be installed at the Karnal railway station at the earliest.
He also demanded the stoppage of other important trains including Kalka–Shirdi Superfast, Hirakud Superfast Express, and Amritsar Shatabdi Express. They also sought the extension of the Bhiwani–Kalka Ekta Express up to Ajmer via Ringus for better connectivity to Khatu Shyam and the extension of Delhi–Bandra Garib Rath up to Chandigarh with stoppages at Karnal, Panipat and Ambala Cantt. The residents have also requested that the frequency of the Chandigarh–Bandra bi-weekly train be increased to daily and the Bikaner–Haridwar Geeta Ganga tri-weekly train be made daily and extended up to Yog Nagri Rishikesh.
Haryana Tribune