Over 50 Sealdah Rajdhani passengers had to travel 19 hours through one of the hottest parts of the country in a compartment with malfunctioning air-conditioners and sealed windows.

Some of the passengers in the AC two-tier coach, XA-1, said they had complained to railway employees about the air-conditioning soon after boarding the train on Saturday afternoon. They were assured that the air-conditioners would start working once the journey started but that did not happen.

According to doctors, the 54 people in the compartment, in the absence of air circulation, were at risk of dehydration and even suffocation.

Those suffering from cardiac ailments, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may become seriously ill by travelling in a train compartment without air circulation, said critical care specialist Rajeev Seal.

Bijoy Sarkar, 42, a city-based sales executive who was travelling in the compartment, said: “The train left New Delhi station at 4.30pm. Within a couple of hours, several passengers were feeling claustrophobic and unwell. In desperation, we pulled the chain at Kanpur station.”

For around an hour, till 10.30pm, rail technicians tried to fix the air-conditioner as passengers from XA-1 agitated on the platform.

Sanjay Pandey, the emergency officer at the station, said: “We managed to run one of the three compressors at 25 degrees Celsius but would have needed men from Allahabad to repair it completely, which was not feasible.”

He took the agitating passengers to the station master, with whom they lodged a written complaint.

The passengers alleged that a single compressor could not cool the compartment adequately after the journey resumed.

“Most of us, including a passenger with a cardiac problem, had to stay up all night because of the heat and get off the train at every stop to get some fresh air,” said Sarkar.

An Eastern Railway spokesperson admitted to the problem. “The air-conditioner was malfunctioning since the train left Delhi and cooling was inadequate,” he said.

When the train arrived at Sealdah at 11.30am, an hour and a quarter behind schedule, the passengers tried to meet the station master but he wasn’t available.

They dispersed without lodging another complaint as they were exhausted.