Goa Express leaves 45 passengers behind after arriving 90 minutes early, departing in five minutes

Mumbai: Forty-five passengers received a rude shock when an express train left them behind at Manmad junction in Maharashtra's Nashik after it arrived 90 minutes before its scheduled time and left in five minutes without taking them on board.

The Delhi-bound Vasco da Gama-Hajarat Nizamuddin Goa Express reached Manmad junction at 9.05 am on Thursday, 90 minutes ahead of its scheduled arrival time of 10.35 am by taking diverted routes, a railway official said.

The train, however, left the station in five minutes without taking 45 passengers from Manmad on board, he said.

When the passengers arrived at the station around 9.45 am to board the train, they were shocked to find that it had already departed leaving them behind, the official said.

The aggrieved passengers went to the station manager's office and demanded alternate arrangements for their journey, he said.

Talking to PTI, the Central Railway's chief public relations officer Dr Shivraj Manaspure it was an error on the railway staff's part and an enquiry has been initiated into the incident.

The affected passengers boarded Gitanjali Express, which was given an unscheduled halt at Manmad, and they travelled to Jalgaon, where the Goa Express was detained till their arrival, the official said.

The Goa Express reached Manmad before its scheduled arrival, as it was diverted via Roha-Kalyan-Nashik Road route instead of its regular Belgami-Miraj-Daund route, he added.