RailEnquiry

With the onset of festive season, people living away from their families tend to get homebound or some plan to go out on vacations. But the unavailability of trains plays the spoilsport many a times during the festive season rush. Those who have planned their outings earlier enjoy the festivities, but the ones with last-minute planning have no option but to rely upon the availability of seats in the trains."Railways have started special trains to cater to the needs of passengers during this festive season. Trains to Saharsa and Katihar in Bihar and Yeswanthpur in Bangalore from Ranchi are the three trains which were started by Railways keeping the festive period in mind," said Kalawanti, PRI, Ranchi Railway Division. But even these preparations proved to be futile when the festive rush ensued. The Hatia-Yashwanthpur, one of the special trains which was started for the easing the festive rush, was out of seats within few days of its commencement. No train from Ranchi to New Delhi, Kolkata or Mumbai has any seat or berth left for reservation in the month of October."Railway has been the most popular means of transportation in India. But the deficiency of trains during the festive season is a matter of discomfort the passengers during a when they desperately want to meet their families or beloved ones. The Railways should have prepared for this period beforehand," said Prem Mittal, President, Jharkhand Passengers' Association (JPA).

Mittal added, "We have written many a times to the DRM, but all in vain. Jharkhand has always been neglected by the Ministry of Railways despite the fact that Jharkhand pays the highest revenue to them. We are in need of more trains, especially during the festivals, but are utterly disappointed by this negligence of Railways towards our State."

"The only solution to the problem is that more special trains for catering to the festive season should be allotted to Jharkhand. Also, extra bogies should be added to the regular ones," said Satyendra Kumar Mallik, General Secretary, JPA.