West Bengal: Special trains to Trichy, Indore overbooked

KOLKATA: The two long-distance special trains announced from Howrah — among 86 for the whole country — have been overbooked. While all classes of the first train to Indore on Monday have been fully booked, there are 250 names on the wait list for sleeper class in the first Howrah-Tiruchirappalli Special on Thursday. No confirmed tickets are available for the AC coaches either.
“People want to get back to their jobs. Some may also be returning home after remaining stuck for over five months. The trains in the eastern sector are a success. The Howrah-Indore Special is a tri-weekly train. It is overbooked for Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Tickets are only available for September 21 or later. This is the case for all the special trains announced under Eastern Railway (ER),” a senior official said.
The Howrah-Tiruchirappalli Special is a South Eastern Railway (SER) train and has been overbooked nearly six days before departure. This is a bi-weekly train and officials believe there will continue to be a rush even if its frequency is increased. The ministry of railways has indicated that more long-distance trains will be run in sectors where there is demand.
“We have also found that the daily Bhagalpur-Anand Vihar Terminus Special is fully booked for the next week while the Deoghar-Agartala Weekly Special is fully booked for the first two weeks. Only a few berths are available for the next four weeks. The Madhupur-Anand Vihar Terminus Weekly Special is also overbooked for the first three trips. We would like to run more trains to clear the rush after discussions with the states,” the official added.