DELHI’S PROTEST SECURITY MEASURES DERAIL PASSENGERS’ PLANS AS TWO KOLKATA RAJDHANIS ARE CANCELLED
October 10, 2026
Thousands of rupees in extra travel costs and disrupted family plans confronted passengers at Howrah and Sealdah stations after the Sealdah–New Delhi and Howrah–New Delhi Rajdhani Express trains were cancelled at short notice on Friday, amid sweeping restrictions imposed in the national capital ahead of a protest demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.
Both premium trains were scheduled to depart shortly before 5 pm, but passengers received cancellation notifications hours before their journeys. The official reason cited was the anticipated severe road traffic congestion around New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin railway stations as authorities prepared for Saturday’s demonstration called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which drew support from several political parties and social organisations.
The disruption formed part of a wider railway restriction under which all mail and express trains scheduled to arrive at New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin between 4 am and 2 pm on October 10 were cancelled at their originating stations. The restrictions applied to trains departing after 2 pm on October 9, leaving passengers scrambling to rearrange journeys planned well in advance.
Each of the two cancelled Rajdhani trains has more than 1,000 berths, amplifying the impact on travellers. At Howrah and Sealdah, passengers expressed anger and frustration over the sudden announcement, particularly those with family commitments, onward travel arrangements and other time-sensitive obligations.
A woman employed at a public-sector bank’s Behala branch had booked three tickets on the Howrah Rajdhani, scheduled to depart at 4.50 pm. She was travelling with her husband and daughter to attend a family gathering in Gurgaon before continuing to Haridwar and Rishikesh. After arranging early leave from her branch manager, she received the cancellation message at around 11.45 am.
Questioning the decision, she said that while cancellations caused by natural calamities were understandable, disrupting trains to prevent mobilisation for a protest was difficult to justify. Her family’s host eventually arranged flight tickets for all three passengers for Saturday morning. The additional expense was substantial: a Rajdhani AC two-tier ticket cost slightly more than ₹4,000, whereas a flight to Delhi was priced above ₹9,000 per person.
At Sealdah station, railway authorities established a “May I Help You” counter near the enquiry office to assist distressed passengers. A railway employee staffing the counter said that more than 40 passengers had approached for assistance within two hours by approximately 3.30 pm.
Retired railway officials acknowledged that train cancellations during agitations were not unprecedented but said they could not recall a disruption of this scale intended to prevent mobilisation for a single protest. One former official questioned how passengers with medical emergencies or other urgent commitments would manage after their journeys were abruptly cancelled. Another former divisional railway manager criticised what he described as the government’s treatment of the railways as its personal property, arguing that the inconvenience suffered by ordinary passengers was being overlooked.
Railway officials in Kolkata, however, offered an operational explanation. They said the cancellations were necessary to avoid a cascading disruption if the trains could not return to Howrah and Sealdah on schedule because of the mass protests in Delhi. Such a delay, they argued, could affect subsequent services for an extended period.
The official also pointed out that other trains connecting Kolkata with Delhi, including the Duronto Express and Netaji Express, continued to operate according to schedule, and maintained that only the two Rajdhanis departing from the city had been cancelled.
The episode has highlighted the tension between preparations to manage a major political demonstration and the need to minimise disruption to ordinary citizens. While railway authorities cited operational constraints and anticipated congestion, stranded passengers faced last-minute uncertainty, additional expenditure and the loss of carefully planned journeys as Delhi prepared for the October 10 protest.
