Mumbai-bound trains register poor turnout

PATNA: The passenger turnout in Mumbai-bound special trains from Bihar is poor due to sudden increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra. Perhaps panicked people seem to be reluctant to visit Mumbai.
ECR chief public relations officer (CPRO) Rajesh Kumar said only 568 passengers left for Mumbai by Patliputra-Lokmanya Tilak Superfast Express (02142) on Saturday though it had 1,538 berths available in the train. The occupancy rate was hardly 37% in this particular train. Besides, Rajendra Nagar Terminal-Lokmanya Tilak Express (13201) is also having poor occupancy for Mumbai these days, he said.
Similarly, Darbhanga-Lokmanya Tilak special (01062) is also having poor occupancy rate of passengers. Out of 1583 berths, only 550 passengers travelled by this train on Friday. More or less similar is the position in other Mumbai-bound trains originating from other places falling under the ECR jurisdiction, CPRO said.
In the Danapur-Pune Express (02150) occupancy rate is hardly 36 to 38% these days. Out of 1585 total berths, 607 passengers (38%) travelled by the train on Friday. In comparison, the occupancy rate in Karnataka-bound trains was better. The Danapur- Bengaluru Sanghmitra special (02296) had 67% occupancy rate as 995 passengers travelled against the available 1,496 berths on Saturday, the CPRO said, adding Danapur-Secunderabad Express (02792) was having 90 to 94% occupancy rate.
Though Delhi is also under severe Covid-19 pandemic, special trains leaving Bihar for Delhi are having better occupancy rate. Out of 1380 berths in the Rajendra Nagar-New Delhi Sampoorna Kranti Express special (02393), 851 passengers travelled on Friday with 62% occupancy on Saturday while Saharsa-New Delhi special, Darbhanga-New Delhi special and Muzaffarpur- Anand Vihar special trains were running with an average of 90 to 96% occupancy rate, the CPRO said.
However, the turnout of passengers from Raxaul to Delhi was hardly 44% on Friday while Muzaffarpur-Ahmedabad special registered about 94% occupancy rate on Friday. Likewise, the occupancy rate was good in other special trains to Howrah, Jamshedpur and Ranchi, he said.