Hundreds of daily rail passengers faced severe hardship on Monday due to what they described as gross negligence by railway authorities, leading to a rail blockade at Jirania railway station in Tripura.

Train No. 75679, operating on the Agartala–Karimganja route, departed Agartala at around 7:20 a.m. with only five coaches. The train was already overcrowded when it left Agartala station, with passengers struggling to find space inside the compartments. Some passengers reportedly even boarded the locomotive area due to the lack of accommodation.

The situation worsened at subsequent stations, including Badharghat and Jogendranagar, where many ticket-holding passengers were unable to board because the train was packed beyond capacity. When the train reached Jirania station, a large number of waiting passengers again failed to board due to the abnormal crowd inside the train.

Angered by the recurring problem, stranded passengers launched a rail blockade at Jirania station, halting the Agartala–Karimganj passenger train for more than an hour. Protesters also stopped the Dharmanagar–Agartala passenger train, disrupting railway services in both directions.

Police personnel and Government Railway Police (GRP) officials rushed to the spot to control the situation and hold discussions with the agitating passengers.

Government employees and daily commuters traveling between Agartala, Dharmanagar, and Karimganj were among the worst affected by the disruption.

The protesters alleged that the Railway Department has been knowingly subjecting passengers to unnecessary hardship by operating the service with insufficient coaches. They demanded an immediate increase in the number of coaches, arguing that the overcrowding issue could easily be resolved if adequate arrangements were made.

As of 10:10 a.m., both passenger trains remained stranded at Jirania station, with protesters vowing to continue the blockade until their demands were addressed by the railway authorities.