Railways’ unique gesture after groom makes SOS call to reach wedding on time

The Indian Railways arranged to delay a train at Howrah station in West Bengal to help a groom and his relatives reach his wedding on time in Guwahati. Sharing a message from the groom, Chandu Wagh, thanking the Railway for its help, The Eastern Railway said that it arranged to detain the Sairaghat Express at Howrah for a few minutes to help the travelling groom.
“IR arranged to detain Saraighat Express at Howrah for a few minutes so that a marriage party with Dulha coming by Geetanjali Express and going to Guwahati can catch the train, 12345 Up from HWH. The marriage party has expressed their thanks to Railways for this helping gesture,” the post on X read.
The Eastern Railway also shared a screenshot of tweets by the groom seeking help in catching the train. “Need urgent help, we are group of 35 people, travelling via Gitanjali express for my marriage which is delayed by 3.5 hrs. Need to catch Sarighat express at 4:00 pm which seems difficult. Kindly help,” the message on X read, tagging Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and the Railway ministry.
The groom also shared photos of his ticket reservation slips along with his SOS post. Hours after his first tweet, he shared that he was able to catch his connecting train.
“I would like to express my deepest gratitude towards all the involved parties,” he wrote, thanking the railways officials and Railway ministry.
“I would like to thank you for making all the necessary arrangements so that I along with my 35 relatives could catch my connecting train. Thank you soo much,” he said.
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The post failed to impress some users on X who questioned why delaying a train for one passenger and his family was justified, especially since the groom was delayed only because another train was running late.
“You can’t run Gitanjali Exp in time? Now trying to take credit for it…wow. It’s a classic case of a shameless celebration of a failed system,” wrote one user.
“If Gitanjali Express was running on time then this situation would not have arisen. Stop patting your own back to hide your failure,” said another user, while a third asked, “Is this fair and legal to detain a train for some people?”
The gesture did resonate with a few users who commended the Railways for it “wonderful passenger friendly” service.