Chhath rush: Railways to run four more special trains

PATNA: The railways has decided to run four special trains on the Rajgir-Bhagat Ki Kothi (Rajasthan), Patna-Puri, Patna-Asansol and Howrah-Gorakhpur routes to cope with post-Diwali and Chhath rush.

At least 40 pairs of special trains are already running on other routes that fall under the jurisdiction of the East Central Railway (ECR) or other zones.

According to ECR’s chief public relations officer (CPRO) Rajesh Kumar, the railways will run a Suvidha Special (82741/82742) from Bhagat Ki Kothi at 9.20pm on October 30, which will reach Rajgir at 5am on November 1. On its return journey, it will leave Rajgir at 10am on November 4 and reach Bhagat Ki Kothi at 3.45pm on November 5.

“The train, which will run with a load combination of 19 coaches, has stoppages at Biharsharif, Bakhtiyarpur, Patna, Ara, Buxar, Pt Deendayal Upadhyay Junction, Allahabad, Kanpur, Tundla, Agra Fort, Bandikui, Gandhinagar, Jaipur, Phulera, Kuchaman City, Makrana, Degana, Merta Road, Gotan and Jodhpur,” the CPRO told this newspaper on Tuesday.

Besides, the Puri-Patna special train (08423/08424) will leave Puri with a load combination of 16 coaches at 9.25am on November 2 and reach the Patna Junction at 6.15am the next day. On its return journey, it will leave Patna at 1.45pm on November 3 and reach Puri at 9.45am the following day.

“Another train (03561/03562) will leave Asansol at 7.55am on November 1 and reach Patna at 2.05pm the same day. On its return journey, it will leave the Patna Junction at 2.50pm and reach Asansol at 9.45pm. It will stop at Chittaranjan, Madhupur, Jasidih, Jhajha, Kiul, Mokama, Bakhtiyarpur, Fatuha and Patna Sahib,” Kumar said.

Likewise, a special train (03031/03032) between Howrah and Gorakhpur will leave Howrah at 11.35pm on October 31 and reach Gorakhpur via the Rampurhat-Bhagalpur-Munger-Barauni-Muzaffarpur-Raxaul route at 11pm on November 1. On its return journey, it will leave Gorakhpur at 4am on November 2 and reach Howrah at 3am the next day.