Passenger woes mount as express trains face severe delays on Chakradharpur-Tatanagar route

Mail News Service

Jamshedpur: Passengers traveling between Chakradharpur and Tatanagar continue to face severe delays, with trains taking over four hours to cover the 63 km stretch that usually takes express trains just an hour. Despite repeated complaints on social media and in station records, the situation remains unchanged. Railway passengers have accused the authorities of prioritizing freight traffic over maintaining the punctuality of passenger services.

The problem has extended to other popular trains such as the Steel Express and Jan Shatabdi Express, both once known for their punctuality. According to Aditya Chaudhary, Public Relations Officer of the Chakradharpur Railway Division, the delays are primarily due to blockades for line repair works, not because of freight traffic.

However, passengers and members of the Users Association dispute this claim. They allege that incorrect timing data is being uploaded to the NTES app to conceal the delays. The matter has been raised in the South Eastern Railway Advisory Committee meeting and brought to the notice of the Railway Minister and Railway Board Chairman. Despite multiple complaints, train punctuality on the Howrah–Mumbai route remains poor, keeping the Chakradharpur division among the lowest-ranked in the national punctuality survey.