RailEnquiry

Hatia's loss may be Ranchi's gain. The headquarters of South Eastern Railway has asked Ranchi division to find out whether it is feasible to start Hatia-Gorakhpur Maurya Express from Ranchi station instead of Hatia, leaving passengers worried. Garden Reach has not given any reason as to why it wants to run Maurya Express from Ranchi station instead of Hatia, from where it originates at present. "We have only been asked by the headquarters to seek opinion of passengers for changing the train's place of origin from Hatia to Ranchi," said Sunil Kumar, additional divisional railway manager of Ranchi division. The Maurya Express, which links the state capital with Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, is the oldest train to North Bihar. Passengers travelling to Kiul, Barauni, Samastipur, Muzaffarpur, Hajipur, Sonpur, Chapra and Siwan mostly take the train, which passes through the famous Chauri Chaura station before reaching Gorakhpur. Two years ago, the railways had introduced another train to North Bihar ' the Ranchi-Jaynagar Express. Though the two trains run on the same route till some stations in North Bihar, they reach different destinations, benefiting passengers of various cities and areas. "A majority of passengers headed towards North Bihar board the Maurya Express from Ranchi station. However, not less than 100 passengers, particularly those residing in the western part of the city like Hatia, Dhurwa, Hinoo et al, take the train from Hatia every day. These passengers will have to go to Ranchi station if the place of origin is indeed changed," said Ashok Nagpal, vice-president of Chotanagpur Passengers' Association. "We will be giving our opinion to officials of Ranchi railway division," he added. Nagpal, however, pointed out that as the train had to come to Hatia for a wash and then park at the yard, there was no point in starting it from Ranchi station. The Ranchi railway station does not have washing lines and facility for trains. So, all trains terminating at Ranchi have to proceed to Hatia, which has a railway yard, for being cleaned up before the next trip. Regular passengers of Maurya Express also questioned the logic of changing the place of origin. "While passengers from Dhurwa and Hatia will have to take the hassle of coming to Ranchi station to board the train, the new plan may not benefit other passengers much," said Arun Kumar Jha, a resident of Harmu Housing Colony.