Who delayed Mumbai trains? BJP workers, railway-officials blame each other
What's the story
Several trains arrived late in Mumbai after BJP workers, being ferried in special services for the party's 38th Foundation Day rally at Bandra Kurla Complex, insisted on unscheduled halts en route, Western Railway (WR) officials said. The BJP had chartered 28 trains for the occasion, with 11 of them terminating on WR and 17 on Central Railway (CR), said officials.
Information
Railways didn't run our trains on priority: BJP workers complain
BJP workers alleged that their special trains were late by two to five hours as the Railways did not run them on priority. Railway officials attributed this delay to passengers demanding an unscheduled and longer halt at Nandurbar station.
No blame
'Not Railways' fault, special-trains run according to regular trains' schedules'
Rail activist Subhash Gupta, who was involved in railway arrangement for BJP, said, "It is true that all trains arrived late on Central and Western Railways." "But we should not blame railways as special trains are run for a specific purpose and they are operated in a certain manner so that the schedules of regular trains are not hit or compromised," Gupta said.
Hardship
Motorists also had tough time due to traffic snarls
Meanwhile, motorists had a tough time during morning rush hour, especially on the arterial Western Express Highway between Andheri-Bandra, as party workers coming in for the rally by road contributed to massive traffic snarls. The Traffic Police had earlier issued an advisory asking people to avoid, as far as possible, some arterial roads like Santa Cruz Chembur Link Road (SCLR), Surve junction etc.