STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: The Assam Rail Passengers' Association (ARPA) has alleged that the NF Railway has cancelled services of 13 passenger trains in Assam.
On December 3, office of the general manager (operations) - NF Railway, Maligaon issued a notice stating that the NFR has cancelled 21 trains out of which 13 are from Assam. This news was published in various media platforms.
The 13 cancelled trains were set to operate between – Dibrugarh-Guwahati, Dibrugarh-Jhajha, Dibrugarh-Kolkata, Guwahati-Mariani, Alipurduar-Kamakhya, Tinsukia- Naharlagun, New Jalpaiguri- Sitamarhi, Furkating-Dibrugarh, Mariani-Dimapur, Dibrugarh-Dangri, Silchar-Vengaichampu, Murkongselek-Dibrugarh, and New Bongaigaon-Guwahati.
Talking to The Sentinel, ARPA president Dipankar Sarma said over 50,000 people were commuting daily through the 13 trains.
"Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, these trains were cancelled. Now after the lockdown, rather than resuming services the NFR has completely shut down these trains," Sarma lamented.
He said the 13 trains were running in profit and suspected that the Government is planning to privatize these trains. Lastly, he appealed to the government to resume the services of the 13 trains.
When The Sentinel contacted NFR Maligaon PRO Nripen Bhattacharya to discuss on the issue, he said, "No decision has been taken to cancel services of these trains. Instead, we are planning to run a train between New Bongaigaon and Guwahati."