Train late by 13 hours, but still ahead of time!

That's the story of two students who travelled on the Maharashtra Sampark Kranti Express from Mumbai to Delhi, as the railways kept announcing till the last minute that the train was late by 33 hours

On January 2, two students of Amity University boarded the Maharashtra Sampark Kranti Express from Mumbai for Delhi.

Noida residents Vidushi Singh and Monalisa Deka boarded train number 12907 on Sunday afternoon. They had planned their journey so that they could reach Delhi on Monday afternoon and could attend evening classes. But they arrived 13 hours too late. More importantly they were shocked to get the information that all the while the railways had been announcing that the train was running late by 33 hours.

Both M.tech students had gone to Mumbai too see their parents during the winter break. "We especially boarded this train as it is among the best plying on the route and it reaches Delhi at around 1.30 pm. So we could have gone for our evening classes," said Vidushi Singh.

But the horror started when the train crossed Vadodara, where it was diverted to Ujjain and Nishatpura due to the Gujjars' agitation in Rajasthan.

"Passengers were not informed about the diversion as it took place late at night. It was only in the morning that we were told that the train will reach late as it had been rerouted. Shockingly no one on the train, from employees in pantry car to coach attendants had any information. We kept asking for updates and time of arrival but all in vain," said Vidushi.

Not just the passengers, even their relatives were harassed as they were allegedly misguided while keeping track of the train's movements. "Our parents could not sleep as the customer care and the website till the last moment kept saying that the train was 33 hours late and would reach Delhi at 2300 hours on January 4.

But the train reached here at 2.30 am on January 4. As no information was available, my relatives had to call me again and again to locate my position," explained Monalisa. Naturally, other passengers on the train had to share the same fate.