Title - Trains running packed for festivals

JAIPUR: With the Navratras starting Tuesday, a huge rush was seen at the ticket counters of the Jaipur railway station with people trying to get last-minute bookings to return home.Trains to cities like Mumbai, Howrah, Ahmedabad and Vadodara are running full till the next month-and-a-half. Even the special trains started by the North Western Railways (NWR) are finding it hard to accommodate the huge rush.Sample this: for someone planning a journey to Vadodara for the Navratras, the waiting list for trains, including the Arawali Express, are running up to 171 in the sleeper class category. Even for AC three tier and AC two tier, the waiting lists are long."There are no confirmed reservations for Varodara from Jaipur till Diwali," said a railway reservation clerk. Others trains to Ahmedabad and Mumbai are also running packed from October 16-20.The situation is no different for those planning to go to Kolkata during the Durga Puja festival. "The reservation status for Jodhpur-Howrah Express shows the waiting list for sleeper class crossing 187, while for the third and second AC it's 130 and 110 respectively," an official said.Several passengers have also requested for bookings under the emergency quota."A person is given a ticket under the emergency quota when one has to visit a place for a job interview, attend to ailing relatives or the mourning of a relative. Every train has certain seats available under the quota," said an official at the commercial wing of the Jaipur division of NWR.Owing to the festive rush, several are trying the quota route to get train tickets."We are getting almost 300 applications everyday for various trains. If a train has an emergency quota of five sleeper berths, we are getting 50-60 applications against it," the official added.The NWR has introduced at least a dozen holiday specials including Jaipur - Ahmedabad, Bikaner-Delhi Sarai Rohilla, Jaipur- Sriganganagar, and added more coaches to other trains to accommodate the rush.