Fog engulfs North India, trains delayed by 1-8 hours

NEW DELHI: Around 15 trains in the Northern Railway region were delayed as sheets of mist spread over most parts of North India on Monday morning, affecting visibility.

Trains were running late by as much as 8 hours behind their scheduled time of arrival in the national capital and neighbouring states.

According to the Railways, Puri- New Delhi Purushottam Express (delayed by 2 hours), Gaya- New Delhi Mahabodhi Express (1.30 hours), Barauni-New Delhi Clone Special (1.45 hours), Gorakhpur -Bathinda Gorakhdham Express (1 hour), Howrah -New Delhi Poorva Express (8 hours), Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus-Amritsar Express (1.30 hours), Kamakhya-Delhi Brahmaputra Mail (4 hours), Raigarh-Hazrat Nizamuddin Gondwana Express (1.15 hours), Visakhapatnam-New Delhi Andhra Pradesh Express (4 hours).

Other trains which were delayed include Raigir-New Delhi Shramjeevi Express (1.15 hours), Raxaul -Anand Vihar Terminal Sadbhavana Express (3.30 hours), Jabalpur-Hazrat Nizamuddin Gondwana (2 hours), Dr Ambedkar Nagar- Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Malwa SF Express (1 hour), MGR Chennai Central -New Delhi Grand Trunk Express (1.45 hours), MGR Chennai Central -New Delhi Tamil Nadu Express (1.30 hours).

Delays in the arrival of trains led to an increase in the misery of the passengers as they waited at the New Delhi railway station for hours.

"The train is delayed by 4 hours. We are struggling in this cold. There is no one to listen to the problems. The government should take some action on this," a passenger said.

Another passenger travelling to Bihar said that the arrival of his train was delayed by 2 hours as he struggled to get the rescheduled timing of the train.

"I am sitting at the station for 2 hours. There is no information about the train. No one is telling about the schedule of the train," he said.

Meanwhile, the national capital witnessed yet another morning of shivering cold as Safdarjung and Palam recorded a minimum temperature of 4.6 degrees and 6.0 degrees Celsius respectively, according to India Meteorological Department on Tuesday.

The chilly cold wave conditions were recorded at 5.30 am today.

Yesterday, Safdarjung recorded 1.4 degrees Celsius and Lodhi road 1.6 degrees Celsius. The national capital had recorded its lowest temperature on Monday morning in January since 2021.

"Temperature at 0530 hrs IST Dated 17.01.2023: Delhi: Safdarjung-4.6 Deg Cent, Tendency-(+0.4 Deg. Cent.); Palam- 6.0 Deg Cent., Tendency- (-1.0 Deg. Cent.)," IMD tweeted this morning.

The visibility in the Palam area in the national capital stood at 500 metres, it said.

"Visibility (<=500 m) recorded at 0530 hours IST of today, 17.01.2023 Haryana: Hissar-50; Bihar: Gaya-200; Tripura: Kailashahar-50; Odisha: Goplalpur-200; " Delhi ": Palam-500; Safdarjung: 1000; Uttarakhand: Dehradun-500; Bihar: Purnea-500," IMD tweeted.

Meanwhile, India Meteorological Department on Monday said that two western disturbances in quick succession are likely to affect northwest India on January 18 and 20, as a result, cold wave conditions over northwest India are likely to abate from January 19.