Packed trains, stranded passengers as Chhath rush overwhelms railways

Patna: With Chhath drawing near, the railways is preparing for an additional rush of an estimated 15 to 20 lakh passengers heading to Bihar from Oct 25. Most of these passengers are migrant workers and families returning to their native places to celebrate the festival and cast their votes in the assembly polls scheduled for Nov 6 and 11 across the state.However, the combined rush of Diwali and Chhath has overwhelmed the railway network. Regular trains from major cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Secunderabad and Pune are already booked to capacity. Passengers are finding it difficult to secure confirmed tickets on Bihar-bound trains.“Even the special trains introduced by the railways are fully booked, especially from the New Delhi and Mumbai ends, leaving many passengers harassed and uncertain,” said Sanjit Kumar of Danapur, who works for an MNC in Delhi.With middle-class and lower-income passengers unable to afford the high cost of air travel, pressure is mounting on the railways to introduce more special trains to meet the surging demand. “We understand the emotional importance of Chhath, and we are assessing the situation to explore if more special services can be added,” a Railway Board official said.Passengers like Sonu Kumar and Nitesh of Hajipur, factory workers in Gurugram, expressed frustration.

“We have been trying for confirmed tickets for the past two weeks. Regular trains are full, special trains are full, and flights are beyond our budget. We want to celebrate Chhath with our families and cast votes in the upcoming election in Bihar,” they said.Stranded passengers and social activists have urged the ministry of railways to act swiftly and introduce additional services, particularly on overburdened routes such as New Delhi-Patna and Mumbai-Patna, where demand is extremely high.