‘Festival blues’ for passengers
Heavy rush post Holi is all set to play spoilsport for the train passengers boarding from the state capital, as a good majority of trains towards the prime stations are either having long waiting lists or have already displayed the ‘No Room’ tag.
Of all, the trains towards Delhi seem to be worst affected. Owing to the postfestive rush, almost all trains running towards Delhi on Tuesday had a long waiting list, while some had ‘no room’. “Delhi is the most preferred destination and hence, all the trains to Delhi are running packed,” told an official with the Northern Railways (NR).
On the day, the waiting list of sleeper class in Lucknow Mail was 288. The rush was so much that the railways had to run duplicate Lucknow Mail and two other special trains to meet the rush. However, it is yet to meet out the rush expected on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Interestingly, there was heavy rush in the regular trains while the special trains went out with vacant berths. On Tuesday, Delhi bound Vaishali express, Kaifiyat Express, AC Superfast Express, Lucknow Mail, Kashi Vishwanath and others had waiting lists upto 200, whereas a number of berths in duplicate Lucknow Mail and other special trains remained vacant. Officials with the NR said, it was perhaps due to the lack of publicity that passengers couldn’t avail the benefits of special trains.
A similar rush was visible for tatkal reservation—the counter of which witnessed huge rush from 5 am onwards. People waited for almost 5 hours in queues to get their tickets booked.
Shivendra Shukla, senior DCM, NR said, “NR has started many duplicate and special trains to meet out the rush. Besides, the staff at the station have been directed to assist the passengers round the clock and inform them of the trains’ status.”
NR has started many duplicate and special trains to meet out the rush. Besides, the staff at the station have been directed to assist the passengers round the clock and inform them of the trains’ status SHIVENDRA SHUKLA, senior DCM, NR