Railways have incurred a loss of Rs 1500 crore due to the ongoing Gujjar agitation which has affected the movement of passenger and freight trains.

“We have lost Rs 1500 crore due to the Gujjar agitation as there has been disruption in passenger train movement and in freight traffic,” Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said here on Monday.

Describing the loss as “massive,” she said it is weighing heavily on the Railways which are yet to recover from the burden of implementation of Sixth Pay Commission report and hike in pension and the losses incurred due to Maoist problem.

She said while the Railways took the burden of Rs 55,000 crore from internal resources for the implementation of the pay panel report, Maoist attacks on rail property has also cost the organisation around Rs 500 crore.

The Gujjar agitation in Rajasthan which entered the third week has led to cancellations and diversion of trains in the busy Delhi-Mumbai section.

The prevailing fog situation over the parts of North India has compounded the worries of railways.

As many as 18 trains were rescheduled from here today due to the late arrival of corresponding trains.

According to the Northern Railway official, as many as 20 trains arrived in the city several hours behind the schedule.

The late running trains included Bandra (Mumbai) Garib Rath which arrived here 30 hours late and Paschim Express running 29 hours late.

The fog and agitation has affected the premier services like Rajdhani and Duronto trains.