Title - Festive rush packs trains beyond capacity

KANPUR: Even before the festival season sets in completely, Kanpur Central railway station has started witnessing huge passenger rush. Trains on all the major routes, including long-distance ones, are running packed to capacity. Passengers are, therefore, unable to find reservation in trains heading towards Delhi. Railway officials informed there is no reservation available in long distance trains till October 30.

A railway staff on duty at reservation office said, "Since Dusshera is falling on October 24, a large human workforce in Delhi is expected to come back to city to enjoy the festivities with family. This will further increase rush on trains already flooded with passengers." He added that reservations are not easily available in trains nowadays. The worst hit is the Shramshakti Express which originates from the Kanpur Central railway station and ends at New Delhi and there is no reservation available for one week.

VIP trains on various routes like Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express are also faring similarly. Other trains bound towards New Delhi like Rewa express, Prayag Raj express, Lichavi express are full. Mahabodhi express, Howrah-Jodhpur express, Udyog Nagri, Udyog Karmi, Seemanchal express are also full.

A senior railway official said, "The passenger rush is increasing ever year and this growth is much more than the number of new trains introduced. It is thus becoming difficult to handle such a huge passenger rush especially during the festival time."

Long, serpentine queues of passengers can be witnessed at the reservation counter on the city side of the railway station. After sweating out in the queue passengers are able to get only waitlisted tickets. This forces them to travel in the general class of the trains which is not an easy task.There is huge passenger influx on all platforms of Kanpur Central railway station be it platform number one or six. Some 250 passenger trains pass through Kanpur Central railway station and over a lakh passengers board these trains every day, making the railway station one of the busiest across the country.

Though passengers are feeling the pressure, the tight situation has turned favourable for touts who are more active now than on usual days. Touts are making their presence felt at the ticket booking offices where they openly bargain at the rates of the tickets with the passengers.