Ranchi div awaits orders as suspense over regularisation of train continues

Ranchi: The Ranchi railway division is awaiting instructions from the South Eastern Railways (SER) over the resumption of express and passenger trains originating from its jurisdiction.

Although speculations are abound over a possible resumption of normal railway services from April 1, the

division

is yet to get a formal communiqué in this regard.

At present, there are 40 pairs of express and passenger trains which are operating out of the division. These trains, however, are being run as special trains and festival trains, which has resulted in a spike in prices of tickets across all classes by at least 1.3 times. The spike in prices has led to dissatisfaction among passengers, who are being forced to shell out extra money. In pre-Covid times, as many as 66 pairs of express and passenger trains were operated by the division.

However, sources in the division said the Railway Board has asked the officials to prep up at least two-long distance trains for their resumption from April. One of them is Ranchi-Anand Vihar Sampark Kranti Express and the other is Hatia-Ernakulam Dharti Aba Express.

“There has been no instruction, as of now, for resuming regular long-distance trains to Maharashtra and Karnataka,” a senior official told TOI on the condition of anonymity.

While the division has been asked to prep up a couple of trains, the recent announcement by SER of extending the operations of six pairs of special trains till the end of June has triggered speculations.

In a press statement issued last week, the SER extended the operation of Hatia-Yeshwantpur special, Hatia-LTT special, Hatia-Purnia Court special, Tatanagar-Howrah special, Hatia-Islampur special, and Ranchi-Howrah special trains till the end of June.

While chief public relations officer of Ranchi division Niraj Kumar refused to comment when contacted, Jharkhand Passenger Association general secretary Prem Kataruka said: “At a time when people are struggling with the economic woes caused by Covid-19 and the prolonged lockdown, what is the logic behind running special trains where passengers are being charged anywhere between 25%-50% higher than the actual price of tickets? The special trains should be suspended at once and regular express trains should be resumed to provide relief to the passengers.”