Title - Specail trains run out of seats

RANCHI: The Chhath special trains introduced by the railways to cater to the festival rush are running out of seats. This despite the fact that the Ranchi division of the railway recently introduced three trains -- the Ranchi-Saharsha Chhath puja special, the Ranchi-Katihar Chhath puja special and the Hatia Yeswantpur Chhat puja special -- for Chhath, the biggest festival in Bihar and Jharkhand. All the trains which are running between various destinations in Bihar from Ranchi and Hatia railway stations are crammed with passengers who are going home to celebrate Chhath.Ranchi DRM G Malaya said, "The special trains were introduced in the wake of high demand during the festival of Chhath. Most of the trains are crammed due to the huge rush of people going to Bihar from Ranchi."The three special trains, introduced when waiting lists in various trains going via these (Katihar, Saharsa and Yeswantpur) junctions, were huge and passengers on these destinations were left high and dry. "Most of the passengers had to go to Patna and then go to Katihar as direct trains are not available," said Chotanagpur Passengers Association vice-president Ashok Nagpal.A large number of people from Bihar, who live in Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Bokaro, Dhanbad and other cities for jobs, usually go to their native places in Chhat. The rush has caused acute scarcity of seats in the special trains as well. Though the railway officials concerned failed provide the exact number of seats availability in the special trains, sources in the railway reservation counter said on Saturday there were about 50 passengers in the waiting lists in the Ranchi-Saharsa Chhat special. Seats are also not available in any of its AC3 and one AC2 coaches.

Similarly in the Ranchi-Katihar Chhat special which has one AC2, two AC3 coaches, besides nine sleeper coaches and three general coaches, seats are a rare commodity. On Saturday its sleeper class showed a waiting list of 45, the sources said. Likewise, seats are not available in the Hatia-Yeswantpur Chhat puja special too. "A large chunk of seats are sold on the very day booking opens," said Ranchi railway division PRO Kalavanti.

As the special trains are not able to meet the extended demand during the festival, the railways has attached two to four extra coaches to every Bihar-bound train from Ranchi and Hatia railway stations.

In Patliputra Express two extra coaches have been added. Extra coaches have also been added to the Hatia-Patna Super Express, the Patna-Rajendra Nagar-Hatia Express, the Ranchi-Patna Jan Shatabdi Express, the Vananchal Express, the Ranchi-Bhagalpur Express and other trains. Rush of passengers is also being witnessed in these trains and there is a long lsim of passengers in the waiting list.