Coach Chaos at Ambala Sparks Passenger Anguish

Passengers of the Chandigarh-Yeshvantpur Sampark Kranti Express faced major inconvenience at Ambala Cantonment Railway Station after the coach guidance display system malfunctioned on Saturday morning. Due to the faulty digital board, hundreds of travelers were seen running from one end of the platform to the other, confused about the correct coach positions.

The chaos began about 20 minutes before the train’s scheduled arrival. Normally, the coach guidance system displays the exact locations of each coach — S1, S2, B1, etc. — to help passengers board easily. However, at Platform 1 in Ambala Cantt, the display either remained blank or showed incorrect information, leading to mass confusion.

Several elderly passengers, women with children, and even differently-abled commuters were seen struggling to locate their coaches in time. The train, which was already running behind schedule by 35 minutes, stopped for just a few minutes, leaving many breathless and frustrated.

Ramesh Kumar, a passenger traveling to Nagpur, shared, “We arrived early just to avoid last-minute rush, but the display board had no accurate information. The railway staff also seemed clueless.”

Despite repeated announcements, there was no clarity provided by the authorities on the coach sequence. Some travelers boarded incorrect coaches and had to change again after the train began moving, further creating panic and inconvenience.

Railway officials later acknowledged the issue, calling it a “technical glitch” and assured that the system would be restored before the next train’s arrival. However, passengers demanded a more robust system with manual backups for such situations.

This isn’t the first time such a problem has occurred. Several similar complaints have been registered in the past regarding coach guidance failures at Ambala and nearby stations.

Railway officials emphasized that they are working toward modernizing and integrating AI-powered coach display systems, but implementation is still underway.

For now, passengers are advised to arrive early and confirm coach positions through the NTES app or station inquiry desks until the system is fully reliable.