Jamshedpur, Nov. 4: Tatanagar railway administration is taking initiatives to cope with the rush of passengers going to various destinations for Chhath festival.
With Chhath round the corner all Bihar-bound passenger trains either originating or passing through Tatanagar and long distance buses are witnessing a huge rush of passengers.
According to information, South Eastern Railway (SER) will run a two special trains between Tatanagar and Chhapra (Bihar) and between Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) and Patna to cope with the anticipated Chhath rush.
Officials at Garden Reach, the SER headquarters in Calcutta, on Sunday said the Tata-Chhapra Express (08181) would leave Tatanagar station on November 15 at 5.15am and reach the Bihar city at 9pm the same day.
On its return journey, the train (08182) will leave Chhapra at 11pm on November 15 and reach Tatanagar at 3pm the next day.
Comprising 11 coaches – an AC-II, an AC-III, five sleepers, two general second class and two luggage vans – the train will halt at Chandil, Purulia, Joychandipahar, Asansol, Chittaranjan, Madhupur, Jasidih, Jhajha, Kiul, Barauni, Samastipur, Muzaffarpur and Hajipur stations.
The Bilaspur-Patna Express (08291) will leave Bilaspur on November 15 and 18 at 7pm and reach Patna after a 14-hour journey. The return train (08291) will leave Patna on November 16 and 19 at 11.55pm. It will also take around 14 hours to reach Bilaspur.
Tatanagar station manager O P Sharma said that they are taking extra care this time to provide relief to the commuters travelling in general coaches as they are the ones who have to bear the brunt of the menace created by some anti-social elements.
“Chhath is an important festival for the people of Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh. Every year people in large number visit their native places. We will make sure that we provide a comfortable journey to the commuters. We will also ensure that the commuters do not face any problem due to unwarranted behaviour of any anti-social elements,” noted the station manager.
No reservation is available in three trains– Tata-Danapur Superfast Express, Tata-Chapra Link Express and Durg-Danapur South Bihar Express in the four days, as it has reached the “no room” status. Reservation is also not available in Puri-New Delhi Purushottam Express and Jallianwalla Bagh Express that passes through Gaya and other destinations in Bihar.
Besides, Tata -Chapra Link Express, Tata-Danapur Superfast Express and Durg-Danapur South Bihar Express that have reported cent per cent occupancy for Chhath, passengers have been seeking reservation in other trains passing through important junctions in Bihar.
Another official said that the facility of additional coaches would be provided till the rush reduces.Sources informed that in order to handle the rush of passengers during the festival season, the railway authorities have started monitoring the waiting list of commuters on a daily basis so that they could add extra coaches to the trains according to need.
U K Srivastava, a senior functionary, Chotanagpur Passengers Association said that thousands of people from the steel city and other places visit Bihar during this time to celebrate Chhath with their families there, and as a result, getting reservations become difficult.