Palwal-Delhi shuttle trains are facing repeated delays of up to five hours, disrupting daily commuters travelling between Palwal, Faridabad and the national capital. Railway officials have begun a 10-day monitoring exercise to identify the causes of the delays and have assigned the station superintendents of Palwal and Faridabad to record train operations.
The monitoring follows repeated complaints about shuttle services used by passengers travelling for work, business and education. According to the report, commuters from Palwal, Ballabgarh and Faridabad depend heavily on these trains for daily travel, with delays during the morning and evening peak periods causing particular disruption.
Palwal station superintendent A.K. Singh and Faridabad station superintendent D.S. Bhandari have been assigned to track the services between Delhi and Palwal. Their task includes recording the scheduled and actual arrival and departure times of the trains, along with operational obstacles encountered during their journeys.
The monitoring specifically includes train 64077, being tracked by the Palwal station superintendent, and the 64492 women’s special shuttle, being monitored by the Faridabad station superintendent. Railway officials are expected to submit a report based on the 10-day exercise to senior authorities. Railway sources said several complaints regarding the two services had been received by the department.
Commuters cited in the report said the delays have made short-distance journeys considerably longer. Passengers travelling between New Delhi, Faridabad and Palwal said journeys covering roughly 30 to 60 kilometres can take between two and four hours when services are delayed. The disruption affects the reliability of rail travel for people whose work and study schedules depend on fixed arrival times.
Passengers identified as Lalit Kumar Gora, a daily commuter from New Town station, and Manoj Kumar, a daily commuter from Palwal, raised concerns about evening services running towards Palwal. They cited trains 64082, 64906 and 64910, described in the report as the second Mathura shuttle, as among the worst affected services.
According to the commuter accounts, train 64082 had run more than an hour late over the previous three days, while train 64906 had recorded delays of two to three hours. Train 64910 was reported to have been delayed by four to five hours for three consecutive days. The report did not identify a confirmed single cause for the disruption.
The railway monitoring exercise is intended to establish the reasons behind the delays through a comparison of scheduled and actual train movements. The station superintendents’ report will be submitted to senior railway officials after the 10-day observation period.
