Ahead of Chhath fest months: All Bihar-bound trains sold out; passengers left stranded

PATNA: With two months still to go for the Chhath festival, passengers planning to travel to their hometowns in Bihar are already facing major difficulties in securing confirmed train tickets.

All Bihar-bound trains, including the prestigious Rajdhani Express, have been booked out across all classes, even by those who tried reserving seats as soon as bookings opened nearly two months in advance.On Monday, the railways opened reservations for Oct 24, a key travel date ahead of Chhath, from major cities such as Delhi and Mumbai. Within just 30 minutes of the booking window opening, all premier trains showed a ‘regret' status, leaving hundreds of passengers disappointed."It was shocking. I logged into the IRCTC website at 8.05am to book a ticket for Oct 24. By the time I selected my train and berth, everything was gone — even in AC First Class on the New Delhi-Patna Tejas Rajdhani Express," said Sumit Saurabh, a Delhi-based IT professional. He added that similar problems were faced with the Sampoorna Kranti Express and the Rajdhani trains bound for Kolkata and Dibrugarh.Aditya Kumar, another IT professional from Delhi, said, "Festival rush is expected, but this year it's worse.

My only option now is to try for a ‘tatkal' ticket, which is more expensive and less reliable," he added.Passengers also raised concerns about special trains, which many, particularly women, avoid due to poor punctuality, lack of amenities and frequent delays. "I am willing to pay extra for a confirmed berth, but these special trains never run on time," said Sangeeta Kumari, a student at Delhi University and a resident of Danapur Cantonment.Despite the predictable surge in demand during Chhath every year, passengers feel the railways have not adequately planned ahead. They argue that, besides running special trains, there should be more regular services with standard facilities to handle the festive rush.