Thick fog in Delhi delays Rajdhani from Bengaluru

Thick fog and zero visibility in the national capital continued to hamper train services on Sunday delaying the departure of Rajdhani Express from here by over 10 hours, an official said.

"The Rajdhani Express, which was to depart from the city at 8 p.m. on Sunday, will depart at 6.45 a.m. on Monday, as the pairing rake's arrival has been delayed by 17 hours due to heavy fog in Delhi and poor visibility en route," a South Western Railway official told IANS.

The incoming Rajdhani on Friday night could leave Delhi's Hazrat Nizamuddin station only on Saturday afternoon as a blanket of thick fog delayed its departure.

"Most passengers who registered their mobile number when booking tickets have been alerted through messages about the delayed departure well in advance so as to avoid inconvenience," the official said.

Two other daily trains to Delhi -- Sampark Kranti and Karnataka Express -- were, however, able to depart at their scheduled time on Sunday evening as extra rakes were available to deploy in the event of delay of their incoming pairing train.

"Our maintenance staff requires at least four hours to service the fully air-conditioned rake of Rajdhani and ready it for passengers," the official added.