"More Sad Than Angry": Gujarat Man After Tejas Express Gets Cancelled Mid-Route Due To Rain

An X user has shared a distressing account of his journey on the Tejas Express from Mumbai to Ahmedabad. In a lengthy post on X, Prithwiraj Mukherjee described how the train was suddenly cancelled due to severe rain in Gujarat, leaving passengers stranded at Vadodara junction for hours without any prior notice on August 27. The most unbearable part of the ordeal was when the air conditioning was switched off, leaving passengers feeling suffocated and trapped in the stagnant air.

In desperation, some passengers took matters into their own hands and manually opened the automatic doors to let in some fresh air, after the air conditioning was shut off, Mr Mukherjee revealed.

The passenger also expressed his frustration at what he perceived as "preferential treatment" given to the Vande Bharat Express. He pointed out that a Vande Bharat Express train, which was travelling on the same route managed to reach Ahmedabad. 

''No official intimation. Just AC switched off. While rain has affected service, the Vande Bharat, which ran parallel to us, has reached Ahmedabad. We are left to our devices. Vadodara is flooded. There is nowhere to go. There are senior citizens and kids on this train. If the Vande Bharat can go from Vadodara to Ahmedabad, why cant other trains?'' he wrote on X. 

See the tweet here:

As passengers confronted railway officials, the authorities relented and offered help. However, the situation took a turn for the worse when passengers from other cancelled trains were allowed to board the Tejas Express, resulting in a chaotic environment, according to Mr Mukherjee's account.

He further shared lived updates of his journey, criticising the Railways for their inadequate communication, unclear instructions, and ineffective management of the situation.

'''Faults can happen. My biggest anger was the way we were treated. They tried to smoke us out of the compartment by turning off the air source (AC). Also if the fault was so severe, how did the Vande Bharat reach Ahmedabad? Are other passengers lesser humans than Vande Bharat passengers?'', he wrote in another tweet. 

After his post went viral, the official X handle of Railway Seva responded to it. They explained that the Vande Bharat train was able to proceed safely due to its superior design features, including higher clearance and advanced water-resistant systems that prevented water from damaging electrical equipment. 

They wrote, ''Water was flowing above the track, Vande Bharat higher clearance and advanced prevention of water ingress into the electrical equipment allows this train to run in deep water even more than 200 MM water above the track. Other Locomotives of trains (other than Vande Bharat ) don't have such clearance and can't be operated after the water level above the track is more than 150 mm.''

Railway Seva also asked the passenger to share his journey details for further assistance.

Torrential downpours in Gujarat on Monday and Tuesday morning have caused significant damage, resulting in three deaths and the evacuation of 17,827 people to safer areas. The extreme weather conditions have led to waterlogging in low-lying areas, prompting the National Disaster Response Force to conduct rescue operations. The India Meteorological Department has issued a red alert for Gujarat, predicting heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in the state over the next two to three days.