Jamshedpur: Four special trains from Tatanagar to meet Holi rush

Jamshedpur, March 13: With the festival of colours Holi round the corner, the Bihar-bound trains and buses from the city are witnessing heavy rush and getting a confirmed ticket is a tiresome job. In order to meet the rush, South Eastern Railway (SER) has decided to run four special trains.

According to a circular, SER will run Holi special trains between Tatanagar and Chhapra. It will leave Tatanagar on March 17. The return train will leave Chhapra on March 20. The  Tatanagar-Chhapra Special will leave Tatanagar at 12.15 pm and will reach Chhapra at 2.05 am the next day.

In the other direction, the Chhapra-Tatanagar Special will leave Chhapra at 12.50 am and will arrive at Tatanagar at 4 pm, the same day. The special trains will stop at Purulia and Joychandi Pahar stations in SER jurisdiction.

Another train,  Shalimar-Gorakhpur Special, will leave Shalimar on March 16 while the return train will leave Gorakhpur on March 20. The Shalimar-Gorakhpur Special will leave Shalimar at 8.20 pm and will reach Gorakhpur at 5.20 pm the next day.  In the opposite direction, the Gorakhpur-Shalimar Special will leave Gorakhpur at 1.40 pm and  will arrive at Shalimar at 9.30 am, the next day.

The special train will have stoppages at Santragachi, Kharagpur, Tatanagar, Purulia and Bhojudih stations in SER jurisdiction. Shalimar-Darbhanga Special, will leave Shalimar on March 16. The return train will leave Darbhanga on March 17.    The special train will have stoppages at Santragachi, Kharagpur, Tatanagar, Purulia and Bokaro steel City stations under  SER jurisdiction.

Meanwhile, the Shalimar-Malatipatpur Special will leave Shalimar on March 17. The return train will leave Malatipatpur the next day on  March 18. The  Shalimar-Malatipatpur Special will leave Shalimar at 6.30pm and will reach Malatipatpur at 2.55am the next day. 

“Like every year this time too, the trains traveling to Bihar are witnessing rush. It is that time of the year when people like to visit their native place to celebrate Holi. We had requested the South Eastern Railway to provide extra coaches in Bihar bound trains to ease the rush,” said  U K Srivastava, senior functionary of the Chotanagpur Passenger Association. He added that the railway administration should also plan at least two to three trains like they do during other festivals.

Meanwhile the Bihar bound buses are also witnessing a similar situation. “There is a huge rush for bookings due to Holi and the rush for bookings this year is more when compared to last year,” Rakesh Prasad, a bus operator. He said that the Holi season is peak time for them and they look forward to the festival every year.