As long distance trains got cancelled, rescheduled or running late for days, the station saw a mass of seething, screaming and utterly disgusted passengers.

As the confusion mounted today, people ran from pillar to post to get refunds for their tickets and find other means of transport.

The list of trains cancelled today included the Howrah-Bhubaneswar-Dhauli Express, Howrah-Hyderabad-East Coast, Howrah-Chennai-Coromandel and the Howrah-Puri-Sri Jagannath Express.

P Bannerjee (46) whose wife was supposed to board the Howrah-Bhubaneswar-Dhauli Express, regretted that he could not afford flight tickets. “Though the rain

disrupted several trains over the past few days, I still hoped that today, the situation will be better,” he said.

Chitta Dulal Mukhopadhyay, deputy-managing director, Bokaro steel plant, called his experience “harrowing”.

Debjani Sen, who had tickets for Coromandel Express, sat by herself on the filthy floor of the railway station. Her son stood in the long queue to get their tickets cancelled.The worst off were those who were clueless about when — or if at all — they would board their trains.

“I was to catch a train for Hyderabad and when I reached the station, I heard trains getting cancelled or delayed. I am not sure when I will reach my in-laws’ place,” said Chandra Ghosh, who was visiting her parents in Durgapur.

“Alone with three heavy bags, I am exhausted. I have no idea if my train will come or not,” she said.

Despite the South Eastern Railways’ claims of upgrading inquiry offices to handle the rush, another passenger, Sanghamitra Nag, was seen circling the inquiry post with her son.