LAHORE: Train passengers of Lahore-Narowal section riled over short compositions and unnecessary delay of trains at Lahore railway station on Wednesday.
While talking to the media, Pakistan Railways (PR) Daily Passengers Association Chairman Hafiz Abdul Qayyum said that up-country trains from Lahore to Narowal and Sialkot were running with incomplete rakes due to which passengers have to travel on rooftops of coaches and on locomotives that may cause any incident.
He said that 209-Up Faiz Ahmad Faiz Passenger train, 210-Down, 211-Up and 212-Down trains were running overcrowded but alleged that the PR administration was not cooperating with passengers who were forced to travel like animals in the trains.
He said that trains run with only three coaches instead of seven, including a luggage compartment which carries almost half as many passengers as a full coach carries.
He also said that train was intentionally delayed for more than one hour which was painful for passengers especially children and women in the hot and humid weather as many of them have to travel to far-off areas during the night.
Saleem Ali, a businessman and daily commuter said that sometimes several passengers could not embark the train due to heavy crowd.
He appealed to the PR Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed and the PR administration to look into the matter and ensure complete composition, as well as the right time departure of every train under a come first, go first policy.
When contacted, the concerned railway officers said that train composition could not be completed till the arrival of new coaches; however, they added that the train schedule would soon be corrected once the monsoon season is over.