Indian Railways: 11 Trains Running Late Today as Dense Fog Reduces Visibility in Northern India

With winter effect back post mild-showers, northern India is again covered in thick fog, which is causing trains to run late.

Thanks to low visibility caused by the lay of thick fog that has engulfed northern India, it is causing as many as 11 trains run behind their schedule. An Indian Railways official informed Barauni - NewDelhi Clone Special and Ayodhya Cantt - Delhi Express are running late by 3:30 hours. Rajgir - New Delhi Sharmjeevi Express and Raxaul - Anand Vihar Terminal Sadbhavana Express are running late by 2:00 hours while Puri - New Delhi Purusottam Express and Dr Ambedkar Nagar - Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra are running late by 1:45 hours.

Azamgarh -Delhi Kaifiyat Express, Raigarh - Hazrat Nizamuddin Gondwana Express, Jabalpur - Hazrat Nizamuddin Gondwana Express, Darbhanga - New Delhi Clone Special, and MGR Chennai Central - New Delhi Grand Trunk Express, are running also late by 1:00 hours, 2:30 hours, 1:30 hours, 1:30 hours and 3:00 hours respectively. On Wednesday a total of 10 passenger trains were running late. Visibility across North India was reduced to concerning levels as fog engulfed the entire region.

Services you can avail if train is late

Well, most railway passengers might not know that Indian Railways provide facilities to passengers in case of cancellation or delay of the train. These facilities include staying at the railway station to free food, among others. Here's how to avail these facilities if you are travelling by train during winters.

Free food for waiting passengers

As per the IRCTC rules, if the train is running late by two hours or more, only than the facility of free meal is given to passengers with a valid ticket. This facility is available only in Shatabdi, Rajdhani and Duronto trains. Food like, Rice, pulses, pickles are part of the lunch and dinner being served to passengers by the IRCTC. Along with this, tea or coffee with two biscuits are also served depending on the time. 

Waiting room facility

Apart from the food, if the train is running late, IRCTC can make arrangements to stay in the waiting room for free at the various railway stations of the Indian Railways. All the passengers availing the waiting room facility have to show their reservation ticket and there are separate waiting rooms for different categories.

Full refund if the train is late

If the train on which passengers are travelling is running late by 3 hours or more due to fog, once can cancel the ticket and get a full refund. While the facility was available for passengers who have booked the offline ticket at the railway counter, now this facility is also for online customers buying tickets through websites like IRCTC. 

Refund if you miss your train

Apart from the ticket cancellation, the passengers are entitled to a get a full refund even if they miss the train due to various reasons, and not just the fog. For this, you have to fill the TDR form within an hour of the departure of the train. This facility is for both online and offline mode.