Post Panchkula violence, 'most of the trains restored': Northern Railway CPRO

The Northern Railways CPRO, Neeraj Sharma, on Sunday said that barring 26 trains, most of the trains have been restored since today morning in the aftermath of the Panchkula erupted due to the verdict against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

Many trains in the Northern region had been cancelled due to the violent activities and destruction perpetrated by Dera followers after their chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was convicted of rape of a 15-year-old on Friday.

"Many of our trains were cancelled till yesterday evening, but at night we restored some of the trains. Trains from Jammu to Delhi have begun running. We resumed a train from Varanasi, a train towards Lucknow and since today morning, we have restored all trains running via Ambala towards Chandigarh, Jammu, and Amritsar. Only 26 of our trains are cancelled because we have to do their rake balancing," Sharma told ANI.

The punishment for the convicted godman is to be announced on Monday, August 28.

In preparation of further possible agitation, Sharma said that the Railway will comply with state's orders in taking any action.

Losses due to the cancellation of trains are yet to be calculated.

"The calculation of losses will take time as many factors are to be taken into account such as the train name which got affected, number of UTS (Unreserved Ticketing System) tickets booked in case of passenger trains, and the classes of coaches, among many other things," explained the CPRO.

He also informed that the trains running via Rohtak towards Firozpur are still cancelled.

"We are in touch with the state government and as soon as we get directions to restore the trains, we are prepared to do it," he added.

-ANI