NEW DELHI: More than 800 trains were cancelled, curtailed or diverted on Saturday due to the Jat agitation in Haryana, affecting over a lakh passengers and causing the railways a loss of more than Rs 200 crore. Movement of coal, edible oil, petroleum and fertilisers was also affected.

Premium trains like New Delhi-Chandigarh Shatabdi Express, Kalka-New Delhi Shatabdi Express and the Rajdhani Express trains to Ahmedabad and Jammu were cancelled. Railway officials said additional arrangements have been made at the stations for cancellations and refunds and amenities have also been provided for stranded passengers.

“Till Saturday evening, 525 trains, including Rajdhani and Shatabdi, remained cancelled while 125 were diverted. Routes of more than 100 trains had to be shortened, while operations of around 200 freight trains were also hit,” said Neeraj Sharma, chief PRO, Northern Railways. The cancellations would be in place till 4pm on Monday. Officials said protesters had damaged railway property at six stations and train tracks at more than 20 locations in Haryana. Two engines were also set on fire.

The New Delhi-Chandigarh route through Panipat, Kurukshetra and Ambala has been closed but services are available through the New Delhi-Meerut-Saharanpur-Ambala-Chandigarh route. Routes to Rajasthan and Gujarat passing through Haryana are also hit. Many trains headed for Amritsar, Jammu, etc, for example Sachkhand Express, Ferozepur-Mumbai Janta Express and Katra-Jamnagar Express were all terminated in Delhi.

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