KARACHI/HYDERABAD, July 31: Stranded passengers faced a nightmare ordeal of catching upcountry and down-country buses and getting ticket refunds as it emerged on Monday that train traffic to and from the port city would remain suspended for another 48 hours.

Bad weather delayed the arrival of at least five flights to Karachi airport on Monday.

Railways officials said the train service between Hyderabad and Karachi was suspended when a water channel rose about 20 feet following Sunday’s torrential rains and swept away part of the bridge at Ran Pathani, 80 kilometres from the port city.

Railways Minister Shaikh Rashid Ahmad told Dawn on Monday that repair work on the bridge was proceeding apace and would be completed within 48 hours.

“Passengers are being moved between Karachi and Hyderabad by bus. Down-country trains are being terminated at Hyderabad. No effort is being spared to provide food and facilities to the stranded passengers,” he said.

Mr Ahmad said ticket refunds were not made to some passengers on Sunday because the railways had run out of cash and banks were closed. He claimed that passengers now faced no such problems.

However, passengers at the Cantt station in Karachi said they faced difficulty in getting ticket refunds because of the closure of the reservation office.

Railways officials said the wires of the computer system at the reservation office had been short-circuited and they were not able to offer ticket refunds immediately and make further reservations.

The president of the Pakistan Railways Workers’ Federation, Manzoor Razi demanded that an inquiry be initiated into the short circuit in the electricity network of the building that had been constructed recently at a cost of Rs10 million.

Stranded passengers received little guidance from officials at the Hyderabad railway station as to when they could catch next upcountry trains. They also had a hard time getting hold of drinking water and food at the station already bursting at the seams following the arrival of hundreds of passengers.

Scuffles broke out as railways officials insisted on offering only fifty per cent ticket refunds. Passengers complained they got a raw deal from ill-disposed railways officials.

At least 43 buses, with passengers packed like sardines, and some perched precariously on the roofs, had left for Karachi by Monday evening.

Passengers blamed their woes on lack of coordination between the Karachi and Hyderabad railway stations. They said 10 buses had brought Awami Express passengers from Karachi to Hyderabad. “But the train had left by the time the sixth bus came in,” they said.

Shamim Shamsi adds from Sukkur: The railways administration provided little relief to the passengers stranded at the Rohri, Pannu Aqil and Ghotki railway stations.

They also refused to offer ticket refunds to the passengers who had booked their seats online.

Waiting passengers, especially children and the elderly, were greatly inconvenienced as eateries at the railway stations ran out of food.