Trouble began at 5.30 pm, and at 8.25 pm one of the trains was finally forced to go back to where it had come from. The reason: delays and cancellations of passenger trains, even as express trains were being allowed to pass through as they have a free line.

Railway officials say that over the last few days, passenger trains have been cancelled or delayed after Northern Railway officials discovered one rail fracture every two km on the 200 km Delhi-Ambala track. Hours later, an inspection was carried out on the Delhi-Rohtak rail track, which was also found to have a crack every km.

With passenger trains being cancelled with regularity, commuters finally took matters into their own hands today. As there was no information about local trains, iratepassengers first blocked the Delhi-Kalka Shatabdi Express at 5.30 pm. They cut off the hose pipe of the train and then a 100-strong mob clambered onto the engine. This mob was joined by another agitating group of 500, who resorted to burning planks of the wooden sleepers in front of the train.

The crowd next stopped a train coming from Kurukshetra to Delhi on the adjacent track. They demanded that the driver take the train back to Panipat. The driver refused, saying that it was physically impossible to work more, as he was to be relieved at Delhi. But the mob was adamant, refusing to withdraw their stand till the driver agreed to their demands.This issue was finally solved with the railway officials persuading the driver to take the train back to Panipat. The train left at 8.25 pm, while the Shatabdi still remained stranded. Assistant Station Master S K Sharma said, ``We have no option but to persuade the driver and send the train to Panipat. People are upset because passenger trains have been cancelledover the last few days, but that is because of fractures on the Delhi-Ambala track. With them allowing one train to go at least, most of the mob will disperse, and then we will persuade them to let the other train go. We have already been diverting trains since the evening.''

The trains diverted through Rohtak included the 9367 Malwa Express, 2025 Paschim Express, 2715 Sachkhanand Express, 1077 Jhelum Express, 2403 Pooja Express and 5207 BJU-ASR Express. The trains diverted through Sampli were the 4001 Attari Express and 4553 Himachal Express. These diversions added to the confusion, as Rohtak-bound passengers got stranded.

The mob operated with a mind of its own, leaving the 150-strong Delhi Police force brought in from the Subzi Mandi station, the 50-strong Railway Police force and the Northern Railway officials totally helpless.

While there was a lot of anger and resentment, there was also a sense of camaraderie and revelry as groups of men huddled together took a quick swig and then shouted slogansagainst the Union Railway Minister in one alcoholic breath. Not surprisingly, they grew more vociferous with the arrival of a press photographer and reporter.

``We have been suffering every day for the last 15 days. These railway people let the express trains go through without any problem, but they cancel the passenger trains. We wait for hours at the stations and there is no information available on when the train might arrive. Then they finally tell us that it has been cancelled,'' said Sonepat businessman Sanjeev Gandhi.

Rohtak farmer Veer Singh said, ``I have been using these trains for the last 36 years and the situation has never been so bad. Trains are running late every day, especially during business hours. We are dependent on this mode of transportation, and hundreds of people suffer because of their carelessness.''

The Railway officials have so far found 97 fractures on one of the busiest Delhi-Panipat track and 67 cracks on the Delhi-Rohtak track. According to them, over 50 passengers andgoods trains run on these tracks every day. This is the only rail track which links Punjab, the house of grains, to the rest of the country. The trains were expected to be back on these tracks on December 10, though they will be allowed to run only with a maximum speed of 60 km.

According to Northern Railways General Manager S P Mehta,``The cracks here mean that the rail breaking off. At some place, the crack is wide and at others, the cracks are hairline. If the trains run faster on such tracks, there is a danger of derailment. We are repairing it through welding.''Chandralekha Mukherjee, chief PRO, adds,``There is a problem but we are trying to sort it out. Moreover, only one of the passenger trains was cancelled in the afternoon. Two others were operating.''

There was much cheering when the first train left the platform and went back to Panipat. The public had had its way. But as a tea stall owner commented,``These people have been agitating for the last three hours about how they get inconveniencedevery day. But they didn't stop to think about the thousands of passengers they have troubled along the route by blocking the two trains.''