78-Year-Old Woman Stranded on Severely Delayed Samarsata Express, Questions Railway Accountability
A 78-year-old senior citizen, Pushpa Gupta, has highlighted the hardships faced by passengers due to massive delays in Indian Railways after her train, the Samarsata SF Express (12152) from Kolkata’s Shalimar to Mumbai’s Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT), ran more than 12 hours late.
In a heartfelt video message shared from her berth (B2) on the train, Pushpa Gupta expressed deep frustration over the prolonged journey and the lack of support for elderly passengers.
What Happened
Pushpa Gupta had booked her ticket online for the train originally scheduled to depart on 28 March 2026. The reservation was made on the night of 26 March. The train was later rescheduled to leave Shalimar at 10:52, but it departed from Agra (where she boarded) at 3:39 pm on 28 March.
Instead of reaching Mumbai LTT by the morning of 29 March (scheduled arrival around 5:30 am on the third day, roughly 34-hour journey), the train was still running several hours behind even in the afternoon. As of her recording, the train was expected to arrive well after 3:30 pm on 29 March — turning a long journey into an exhausting ordeal.
Elderly Passenger’s Appeal
The 78-year-old widow, who raised two daughters single-handedly, said she does not eat food from outside vendors and has been struggling to manage during the delay. She pointed out that Indian Railways earlier provided some facilities for senior citizens, but she is not receiving any special support or concession now.
In her video, she questioned the system directly:
“Will the Railways pay penalty to passengers for the delay? A lot of curses will fall on them.”
She further appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi:
“Modi ji, please listen to my request. I am a senior citizen and a widow. I am not getting any senior citizen benefits. No one is listening to how I have lived my life and raised my children alone.”
Pushpa Gupta identified herself clearly in the video: “I am Pushpa Gupta, speaking from Berth No. B2 in Samarsata Express.”
Common Passenger Pain Point
Her video has brought attention to a frequent issue — long-distance trains like the Samarsata Express often suffer significant delays, causing severe inconvenience to senior citizens, families, and passengers who rely on fixed schedules for medicines, food, and rest.
As of now, there has been no official statement from Railways on compensation or specific relief for this train’s delay.
Many passengers and netizens are sharing similar experiences of delayed trains on the Howrah-Mumbai route in recent days.
This incident once again raises questions about passenger welfare, especially for elderly travellers, timely information, and whether the Railways should introduce better delay compensation mechanisms.
If you are travelling on long-distance trains, it is advisable to keep checking live running status on the IRCTC Rail Connect app or NTES.
