Silchar-Rangiya Express Faces 2-Hour Delay After Passengers Pull Chain Over Unbearable Stench, NF Railway Responds

Trains on the Silchar-Guwahati route continue to suffer from major structural and safety issues, running on outdated coaches prone to derailments, brake-binding smoke (February 22 on the Barak Brahmaputra Express in Bihara station), and poor hygiene. Passengers have questioned the Northeast Frontier (NF) Railway over its callousness in the last few years. The latest trouble struck last night when a foul smell in the Silchar-Rangiya Express (15612) forced passengers to pull the chain, delaying the train by two hours. Barak Bulletin spoke to affected passengers and reached out to NF Railway’s CPRO for answers.

Silchar-Rangiya Express (15612) faced a nearly two-hour delay on Wednesday night after passengers were forced to pull the chain due to an unbearable foul smell in one of its AC coaches. The train, scheduled to depart from Silchar at 10:40 PM on March 19, eventually left at 12:32 AM on March 20. As of the latest update on the National Train Enquiry System (NTES), the train was running 2 hours and 34 minutes late.

Passengers of coach B6 claimed that as soon as the AC was switched on, a strong stench filled the entire compartment, making it impossible to sit inside. Despite repeated complaints to railway staff, no action was taken, forcing them to pull the chain just as the train was about to leave the station.

A passenger travelling in 3AC with his son for medical treatment in Guwahati said, “I booked an AC ticket beyond my financial capacity so that my son could travel comfortably. But with this stench, he would have fallen more sick. The entire coach was suffering, and when no one addressed our complaints, we had no option but to stop the train.”

However, passengers alleged that instead of addressing their concerns, railway staff confronted them and demanded to know who pulled the chain. “We were even threatened for stopping the train,” the passenger added. The passengers got out of the train in a manner of protest and voiced their concerns.

After searching the AC ducts and vents, maintenance staff failed to locate the exact source of the foul smell. Passengers suspected a dead rodent, while also pointing out that the train had not been cleaned after its previous journey from Rangiya to Silchar, as garbage was found under seats.

Regular commuters expressed frustration over repeated cleanliness issues. “I take this train frequently as we have no other option of favourable train timings, but every other day there is an issue with the bedroll or the bathroom or the cleanliness of the train seats and I have tweeted multiple times to the authorities with sufficient proof. But accountability is zero. Someone will come after we complain with a puppy face and say things will be better next time, but it doesn’t happen. Other times they will say it’s not their responsibility, rather it’s the fault of the contractual cleaning staff, the cleaning agency’s contractor will make another excuse, with all this we are the worst sufferers and whenever there are any whistleblowers, they are being silenced,” stated another passenger.

Barak Bulletin reached out to NF Railway’s CPRO, Kapinjal Kishore Sharma, regarding the passengers’ grievances. He assured us that the reason behind the foul smell is being investigated at a higher level and acknowledged the need to improve cleaning and maintenance processes.

Sharma also addressed concerns about old, dysfunctional coaches on the Silchar-Guwahati route, stating that the railway is gradually modernising trains with LHB coaches. “The transformation is a continuous process. In the next three to four years, all coaches in India will be LHB,” he said, adding that priority is being given to longer-distance trains before shorter routes like Silchar-Guwahati.

Regarding the alleged threats against protesting passengers, Sharma stated, “We take complaints seriously and recommend that issues be resolved in a cordial and non-confrontational manner. We are working on ensuring better and safer travel experiences for passengers.”

NF Railway has assured that a thorough investigation is underway to prevent such incidents in the future.