Now Reading: Long waiting lists on trains as Puja rush peaks in Odisha
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Long waiting lists on trains as Puja rush peaks in Odisha
Passengers on long-distance trains through Odisha face long waiting lists as the Durga Puja holiday rush peaks, with many tickets booked a month ago still unconfirmed. Ganjam resident Pintu Nahak, who works in Gujarat, said his ticket from Bharuch to Berhampur for 15 October was still not confirmed, and he did not know how he would reach home before Dussehra.
Popular trains such as the Bhubaneswar-Bengaluru Prashanti Express, Howrah-M.G.R Chennai Central Mail, Bhubaneswar-Mumbai Konark Express, Delhi-bound Purushottam Express, Nandankanan Superfast Express and Tejas Rajdhani have no confirmed tickets for several dates over the next month. Passengers making last-minute bookings are finding only waitlisted tickets, forcing many to consider alternative transport. Air travel is too expensive for many families, said Kanhei Puhan, a resident of Bhubaneswar's Nayapalli.
Railway officials said 15 special trains are running through Odisha and extra coaches have been added to 22 trains. An East Coast Railway spokesperson said more puja specials would be run in the coming days to manage demand.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The festive-season crunch shows how rail capacity fails to absorb the annual spike in passenger movement from migrant workers, students and professionals returning home. With confirmed tickets unavailable weeks ahead on all major routes, thousands face uncertainty over family travel plans. The railways' response of 15 special trains and extra coaches on 22 trains addresses only a fraction of the unmet demand. The next step is whether the promised additional puja specials materialise in time for the peak travel dates around 15 and 18 October.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Methodology and corrections.
