Northern Railway restored 214 passenger train services across the national capital region on Sunday morning. Rail traffic returned to normal following Saturday’s heavy security clampdown around central Delhi. However, 30 passenger services still remain cancelled for the day due to operational adjustments.
Railway authorities had suspended numerous local services on Saturday to manage crowd movement during the anti-CEC demonstration. Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay, Chief Public Relations Officer of Northern Railway, confirmed the recovery of daily services. As reported by The Indian Express, Upadhyay explained that traffic congestion in the Delhi area has eased. Therefore, the division restored most cancelled routes to assist daily commuters.
Key Commuter Corridors Return to Normal Schedules
The restoration brings major relief to thousands of passengers traveling from neighboring industrial towns. Local trains connecting Delhi with western Uttar Pradesh and Haryana resumed regular operations from early morning hours.
Specifically, railway officials restarted services along the busy Delhi–Ghaziabad and New Delhi–Ghaziabad tracks. Furthermore, suburban trains now run normally on the Delhi–Aligarh, Agra–Palwal, and Panipat–New Delhi routes. Similarly, passenger rakes returned to their scheduled timetables along the Kurukshetra–Delhi and Panipat–Ambala corridors. Consequently, office workers and daily vendors reached city stations without major transit hurdles on Sunday.
Thirty Trains Remain Cancelled Due to Operational Backlog
Despite the widespread resumption, Northern Railway kept 30 regional trains cancelled to resolve rake shortages. In addition, officials short-terminated several passenger services originating from rural stations.
For instance, the Sirsa to Tilak Bridge service started its journey from Rewari, leaving the Sirsa–Rewari stretch cancelled. Meanwhile, the Hisar to Delhi Junction passenger train also originated from Rewari instead of Hisar. Furthermore, local shuttle operations between New Delhi and Shakurbasti faced partial cancellations. Therefore, railway authorities advised travelers to verify live train updates through the National Train Enquiry System (NTES) before arriving at stations.
Saturday’s Protest Curbs Gave Way to Normal Commutes
The weekend disruptions began when Delhi Police requested sweeping transit curbs ahead of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) youth protest. Authorities had cancelled trains heading toward New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin stations between 4 am and 2 pm on Saturday.
The transit shutdown had stranded thousands of weekend commuters outside city terminals. The Supreme Court also criticized the extensive travel curbs, noting that authorities cannot use excessive measures for crowd management. As a result, the national transporter moved quickly to restore operations across all key terminals by Sunday midnight. On the other hand, railway protection forces remain deployed at major platforms to maintain orderly passenger movement.
Curated news reports, in-depth analysis, and special features by India’s Opinion editorial team.
