10 trains cancelled, routes of many others altered, police increase security

LAHORE:

Railway authorities have cancelled several trains and altered routes of many others because of the ongoing protest march towards Islamabad by the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), leading to loss of millions of rupees.

Officials said on Thursday, 10 trains to Islamabad were cancelled due to the long march and sit-ins. The cancellation of trains and the refund of tickets had inflicted a Rs4.9 million loss on the Railways, they added.

The cancellation of the trains had also caused serious inconvenience to the passengers. The officials expressed the fear that more trains could be cancelled on Friday (today) as a precautionary measure in the wake of violent protests on the route to Islamabad.

Both up and down traffic between Lahore and Rawalpindi had been affected. The cancelled trains included up and down Green Line trains; the Lahore-Rawalpindi Islamabad Express and the Rawal Express, besides Peshawar-Quetta Jaffar Express.

The railway administration had also diverted various trains between Lahore, Rawalpindi and Peshawar to avoid any untoward incident. Trains between Lahore, Rawalpindi and Peshawar have been diverted to Sangla Hill, Sheikhupura, Jhund, Basal, Kandian and Sargodha railway stations.

“Train operation will continue with a better strategy but in view of the current situation, routes will be changed,” Chief Executive Officer, Railways, Nisar Memon said. “Important decisions will be taken for the safety of passengers so that the passengers can safely travel towards their destinations,” he added.

Security tightened

Dr Muhammad Waqar Abbasi, the deputy inspector general of the Railways police, North, said that keeping in view the security concerns and violent protests, the railways police had tightened security at the railway stations.

In addition to the deployment of commandos at the entry and exit of the stations, commandos had also been instructed to remain alert inside the trains to provide protection to train drivers in case of any emergency,” he added.