• Source:JND

Surge in Passengers and Ticket Scarcity The number of passengers travelling to Bihar from metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and Bengaluru has suddenly increased in view of the upcoming Holi festival. This has had a direct impact on the availability of train tickets. The situation is such that tickets are unavailable in most major trains from the end of February to the beginning of March, while waiting lists in many trains have crossed the 200 mark.

Status Of Major Trains From Delhi

In the Seemanchal Express coming from Delhi to Patna, tickets are unavailable from February 26 to March 3. Seats in the Howrah Duronto Express are full from February 21 to March 3. Tickets are not available in the Shramjeevi Express on March 1 and 2. Similarly, tickets are unavailable in the Vikramshila Express from February 26 to March 2, and seats in the Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express are exhausted for February 28.

High Waiting Lists

The Rajendra Nagar Tejas Express and Poorva Express are witnessing waiting lists of over 200. Tickets are not available in the Sampoorna Kranti Express from February 28 to March 2. The Garib Rath Express has no tickets for February 28, with waiting lists on other days. Additionally, tickets are unavailable in the Amrit Bharat, Magadh, and Farakka Express on February 28. In the Brahmaputra Mail, seats are completely full from February 1 to March 2.

Mumbai, Ahmedabad And Bengaluru Routes

The situation from Mumbai to Patna is equally grim. Tickets are unavailable in the Vasco Da Gama Express from February 12 to February 26. Seats are full in the Lokmanya Tilak–Rajgir Express on February 27 and 28 and tickets are unavailable in the Patliputra Express from February 27 to March 1. The LTT Express bound for Guwahati has no tickets from February 20 to March 6, impacting Bihar-bound passengers.

On the Ahmedabad-Barauni route (Train No. 19483), tickets are unavailable from February 1 to March 2, while the Guwahati Express has a waiting list of over 150. Similarly, from Bengaluru to Patna, tickets are unavailable in the Sanghamitra Express from February 23 to March 1 and in the Bagmati Express on February 27.

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Passenger Woes And Demands

Due to the compulsion to return home for the festival, passengers are forced to either book tickets with long waiting lists or look for alternative means of transport. Passengers have demanded additional trains and increased coach capacity so that people can reach their homes on time for Holi. There is now increased pressure on the railways to make special arrangements for the festival.

Buses As The Only Option

Over 200 Festival Buses from February 15 With trains being full, buses have become the only reliance for people from Bihar returning home during the festive season of Holi. The Bihar State Road Transport Corporation (BSRTC) will operate more than 200 special festival buses from February 15 to March 15.

Booking And Routes

Ticket booking for these buses will commence on February 1. The objective is to provide safe, comfortable, and affordable travel facilities to passengers during the festival. These festival buses will ply on major routes connecting Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Jharkhand. Passengers coming from cities like Delhi, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Gurugram, Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Kolkata, Durgapur, Ranchi and Dhanbad will directly benefit from this service. These buses will operate under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode.

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Bus Features And Online Booking

These buses, operated by BSRTC, will be in the AC Deluxe and Non-AC Deluxe categories with a seating capacity of 50 to 60. The state government will also provide special discounts on these buses to make the journey cheaper for passengers. Passengers can book tickets online through the corporation's official website https://bsrtc.bihar.gov.in/. Payment facilities via UPI, debit card, credit card, and net banking will be available.


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