[ruzbehxyz]

September 3, 2020.
Here's why Rajdhani Express travelled to Ranchi with a single passenger onboard.

The Rajdhani Express connecting Ranchi and New Delhi had to travel 535 km with just one woman on board, who refused to take a taxi or bus to cover the remaining distance after the train got stranded at Daltonganj station.

Due to the Tana Bhagat protest at Tori Junction, the Rajdhani Express was stranded at Daltonganj for several hours on September 3. So, the district administration had arranged a bus for the stranded passengers. Almost all the passengers (930 of them) agreed to de-board the Rajdhani Express and travel the remaining 310 km by bus, save one woman, reported The New Indian Express.

The woman identified as Ananya refused to take the bus to reach Ranchi, so the Rajdhani Express had to take a detour and cover 535 kms – 225 kms longer than the usual route – with just one woman on board.

The woman reportedly did not agree to travel by bus because she had paid for the train ticket. Railway authorities tried to convince her, but the law student from Banaras Hindu University refused to budge. They ultimately gave in to her demands and the train departed from Daltonganj to finally reach Ranchi at 1:45 am on September 4.

Source: https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/in...d-5798741.html

[drmohitg]

Sounds strange. Aren't there rules under which the Railways can cancel a train citing security issue?

[Sutripta]

Trains can and are short terminated.
And ultimately the rake will be brought to one of its terminal points.
Feel something has been garbled/ mixed up in the report.

Sutripta

[ruzbehxyz]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Sounds strange. Aren't there rules under which the Railways can cancel a train citing security issue?

They can cancel a particular train, but not after it has taken off. And citing the security issue, the train finally took a detour to its destination.

[deathwalkr]

You would think the train traveled the entire journey with just one passenger!

[BoneCollector]

Originally Posted by Sutripta

Trains can and are short terminated.
And ultimately the rake will be brought to one of its terminal points.
Feel something has been garbled/ mixed up in the report.

Sutripta

Yes, trains can be short terminated on any of the stations enroute if there is a security threat or damage along the route or various other reasons. But most of the long distance trains are rerouted via other alternative route to its terminal point. In this case, the Rajdhani had to travel from Daltonganj to Ranchi on a different route. Road distance between them is little less than 200kms. So it was good on part of passengers to have taken the road. As for the single passenger, a female law student from BHU, it was foolishness and nothing else.

Road distance.


Train route is longer as show here. First train is Rajdhani and it takes a circuitous route.

Originally Posted by ruzbehxyz

They can cancel a particular train, but not after it has taken off. And citing the security issue, the train finally took a detour to its destination.

Trains can be cancelled anywhere and then brought to terminal station. Since Ranchi is nearer to Daltonganj, it was brought there or else it could have been taken to Delhi too.

[Rajeevraj]

I don't think they ran the train just for the one passenger. In any case the train would have had to reach its terminal for the next journey. When the passenger refused to take the alternative, they would have told the passenger, you can sit in the train, but no guarantee on when you will reach.

News media probably twisted it and sensationalized it.

[saket77]

I read the report in a local newspaper. Apart from this one-pax journey, railways had to also arrange for a good number of ladies constable for the security of the female passenger.

I would say that whatever the reason/ issue but railways did play a responsible role here.

Regards.

[Mynameis]

If the opening post has not missed out on any information, this lady definitely made use of her 'contacts'. Or, there is definitely something more to it. Its more than just a surprise that Indian Railways basically provided a train for just one pax! That too for such a long distance! Whatever the rules, this seems practically impossible in way Indian system works.

[V.Narayan]

In September 1985 I was on this very train headed for Calcutta. Some where in Bihar at the train stopped due to rioting and other civil disturbances. Being a different era there was no attempt by the Railways to assist passengers or provide alternative travel. It must have been very difficult for passengers with families and for older people. Being a young man with a non-chalant air I simply hopped on to a jeep carrying a dozen more people than it was licensed to and made my way to Ranchi where also I had some work. Given the apathy in those days it did not even occur to me that the Railways (owned by the all mighty Govt) owed us the rest of the journey! Good for this lady for sticking to her seat. Today the Govt is a lot more careful with customers than it used to be - still a long way to go but every millimetre of improvement counts.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by ruzbehxyz

September 3, 2020.
Here's why Rajdhani Express travelled to Ranchi with a single passenger onboard.

Straightforward story, twisted by a silly reporter.

Originally Posted by Sutripta

Trains can and are short terminated.
And ultimately the rake will be brought to one of its terminal points.
Feel something has been garbled/ mixed up in the report.

The rake, as you rightly said, had to reach Ranchi whenever it could, for the return journey. The train reached Daltonganj early in the morning, around 5 am (Day 2 of the journey - train left New Delhi Station at 4 pm on Day 1), at which time it was found that there was an indefinite rail blockade.

Indian Railways does provide road bridge to destination where possible, if the train is unable to run, at their own cost (without making passengers pay extra). In some states, IR has tied up with the State Transport Corporations (and AFAIK, private operators) to get buses. 930 passengers would have entailed about 20-25 buses. The area being notorious as a Naxalite zone, IR officials also wanted to minimize the risks to passengers during the indefinite stoppage.

The lady refused to get off the train, and did not want to travel by bus (the reasons are not clear, but it may have been a fear of getting infected with Coronavirus). The rake was destined to reach Ranchi ultimately, it was not that the train was specially run for 1 passenger as a stupid reporter described. The result was that she reached Ranchi at 1:45 AM on Day 3, instead of around midday on Day 2 if she had taken a seat in one of the buses that IR had organized. To add to her troubles, she unnecessarily exposed herself to risk, and IR was forced to allocate GRP for her protection.

Some people can be unreasonably pig-headed, and become the news for all the wrong reasons.

[Sutripta]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Some people can be unreasonably pig-headed, and become the news for all the wrong reasons.

'Blame' is too strong a term, but accountability matters. So what percentage for the lady and what for the journalist? (And lucky for us the lady was not an actress, who later had some misfortune befall her!)

Sutripta

[airbus]

Here is another news: Kalka-Shimla heritage train plys with two passengers, candidates appearing for NDA exam

Amar Singh Thakur, Chief Commercial Inspector of the Kalka-Shimla railway told ANI, “This special train has been started amid of COVID-19 pandemic to provide transportation to the candidates appearing in the National Defense Academy (NDA) examination of India which are being conducted by the Union Public Service Commission Examination across India.”

“Covering the distance of 47 kilometers, two passengers travelled in this train this morning. The same train would return back in the evening and we are expecting more travellers,” Thakur said.

[Cessna182]

I read the incident involving the lady. At first, I thought she was at fault for disobeying orders. Then I realized that had it been a flight ticket, which costs less than a 1st AC or tatkal 2nd AC ticket these days, airlines would provide a refund or arrange some dignified transport. It's a shame that the railways cannot respect passengers- maybe the fossilized IAS babus are the reason.

Imagine yourself thrown out of a journey because of whatever avoidable reasons. After paying the fare for a luxury train and almost as much as a flight. I can't imagine myself behaving differently.

[MadiMaama]

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

Trains can be cancelled anywhere and then brought to terminal station. Since Ranchi is nearer to Daltonganj, it was brought there or else it could have been taken to Delhi too.

This Ranchi Rajdhani is maintained by South Eastern Railways, and based at Ranchi. The rake would have come empty to Ranchi anyway since it has to undergo primary maintenance at Ranchi. So, taking it back to Delhi is not an option as the RBPC (Round trip Brake Power Certificate) would not be valid.

Thanks

Ani