The railways has cancelled 42 passenger trains so far to facilitate coal freight movement in the wake of a power crisis in various parts of the country, causing inconvenience to people travelling to and from coal producing states such as Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.
The South East Central Railway division that covers the coal producing regions has cancelled 34 passenger trains, while the Northern Railways, the division that receives coal for many power stations in the north, has cancelled eight trains.
The Central Electricity Authority's daily coal stock report states that 56 of 165 thermal power stations are left with 10 per cent or less coal, and at least 26 have less than five per cent stock left.
India's 70 percent electricity demand is fulfilled through coal.
Some passengers services under the SECR like the Bilaspur-Bhopal train, which was suspended in March 28, will now remain in this status till May 3, while the MEMU between Maharashtra's Gondia and Odihsa's Jharsuguda stands cancelled from April 24 to May 23 and the Dongargarh-Raipur MEMU in Chhattisgarh from April 11 to May 24, according to official data.
While the SECR has cancelled 22 mail or express trains and 12 passenger trains, the Northern Railways has cancelled four mail or express trains, and as many passenger services.
Following the cancellations, the railways has raised the average daily loading of coal rakes to over 400 a day, the highest in the past five years, the data stated.
Railway officials said that the national transporter has put 533 rakes for coal duty a day, 53 more than what was put into service last year. On Thursday, 1.62 million tonnes of coal was loaded in 427 rakes.
A few days ago, the cancellations resulted in massive protests in Chhattisgarh, which falls in the SECR division, with Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel speaking to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, resulting in restoration of around six trains.
State Congress chief Mohan Markam had staged a protest outside the office of the divisional railway manager of SECR's Raipur division over the cancellations.
Officials in the know said that people are facing inconvenience and cited that the cancellation of trains like the Hatia-Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Superfast Express had come as a big blow to cancer patients, who book tickets months in advance to go to Mumbai for treatment.
There has been no official comment from the railway ministry on either the suspension or cancellation of services.
Officials said that in total, the railways has cancelled 753 trips -- 363 of mail or express trains and 390 of passenger trains -- in the SCER and the NR railway zones.
To ensure transparency in supply, the railways has also imposed loading restrictions for rails and parcels on select routes.
