Chorus to resume trains grows louder ahead of festive season

Ranchi: Politicians, traders and citizens are joining the growing chorus within Jharkhand demanding the resumption of passenger and express railway services in the state.
Kartik Pal (45), a resident of Ambika Kalna in West Bengal’s Purba Bardhaman district, has not seen his family since February this year. Stranded in Ranchi during the lockdown, Pal, who works in a metal workshop in Ratu Road, now wants to go home to spend the Durga Puja with his daughters after managing to earn just enough to sustain the festive season.
“I went to Ranchi railway station to enquire whether there is any train, but they told me there isn’t any,” a dejected Pal said outside the station on Friday.
Souvik Dey, a marketing officer with a leading cement company in Ranchi, is in a fix. “I got in touch with cab aggregators and private taxi service firms to book a ride to my home in Chandannagar during the Durga Puja. But they are charging me anywhere between Rs 8,000-9,000, which is exorbitant. Even the flights are very expensive. There is no way I can afford it at this time,” Dey said.
Like Pal and Dey, hundreds of people are waiting for the resumption of train services between Jharkhand and West Bengal ahead of the Puja. There is no official word, however, from the Indian Railways on running trains between Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal at this moment.
While around 12 pairs of special trains, which are currently being operated between Howrah, Bhubaneswar, Agartala and Darbhanga, are passing through Jharkhand and making stops at different stations, direct railway connectivity between Ranchi, Patna and Howrah stations remains stalled owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We are ready to run trains between Howrah and Patna. But we are yet to get a signal from the Jharkhand government in this regard,” a senior official of Ranchi railway division told TOI requesting anonymity.
“Earlier this month, a proposal was sent out to the government requesting running of passenger trains within Jharkhand to facilitate the movement of students and their parents who reached Ranchi, Dhanbad, Bokaro and Jamshedpur for appearing in NDA, NEET and JEE exams, but that was turned down too. Now, with the UPSC exams scheduled on October 4, many aspirants will face problems due to the unavailability of railway services,” the official added.
While one special train was being operated from Ranchi and Tatanagar railway stations, the services were stalled on July 10 on Jharkhand government’s directives. Chief minister Hemant Soren had justified the move stating that the Jharkhand-bound trains from Bihar are bringing in Covid-19 infected people.
On September 23, the Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce and Industries wrote an open letter to chief secretary Sukhdev Singh demanding the resumption of 18616 Hatia-Howrah Kriyayoga Express keeping in mind the passenger rush which happens during the festive season. The FJCCI suggested that the weekly train be operated six days.
In his meeting with Railway Board chairman Vinod Kumar Yadav earlier this week, Ranchi MP Sanjay Seth demanded that the trains between Ranchi and Dumka, Daltonganj, Jaynagar, Howrah and Patna be resumed immediately.
K Ravikumar, the secretary of state transport department, said: “If a proposal comes from the Indian Railways, the government will deliberate and take a call accordingly.”