Fog has crippled road and rail traffic across North India. Trains are being diverted and over 400 trains were running late on Monday, said the Railways.
Trucks are slowing down and avoiding fog-hit routes.
Chaos on railsVarious railway zones – Northern, East Central, North Eastern, North Central, West Central, North Eastern, North Central, West Central, North East Frontier, North Western, and Eastern – were affected on New Year Day.
The divisions that were hit by fog on December 31 included Moradabad, Firozpur, Ambala, Delhi, Lucknow, Sonpur, Samstipur, Danapur, Dhanbad, Mughalsarai, Varanasi, Lucknow, Izzat nagar, Allahabad, Jhansi, Agra. “Over 400 mail and express trains and several freight trains across zones got hit by fog,” said a railway official. The situation could worsen further as there is a cascading impact with networks getting choked.
According to Bhim Wadhwa, President, All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), trucks are moving much slower, taking five days to cover three-day routes.
‘There is an increase in cost as more diesel gets consumed. Also, there is wastage of perishable items,” said Wadhwa. A company that runs container trucks said their trucks were taking detours to skirt fog-hit routes.
Railways has also started cancelling trains expecting weather disturbance, throwing new year travel plans of many passengers off gear.
Northern Railways, the biggest passenger loading zone, issued a release stating it had cancelled five trains on Monday and five on Tuesday. The Railways have also decided to terminate some services midway.