Ranchi: Ranchi MP Sanjay Seth on Wednesday asked the South Eastern Railways (SER) to ensure that passengers from Ranchi can get bookings in the Rourkela-Jaynagar-Rourkela special train, which will begin its operations from Thursday.
Seth, who attended the annual divisional committee meeting of Ranchi and Chakradhapur divisions of SER in Rourkela along with Jamshedpur MP Bidyut Baran Mahto and Singhbhum MP Geeta Koda, also advocated the running of Kisan Rail to facilitate the vegetable sellers of Lohardaga and of other parts and the running of Rajdhani and Garib Rath express trains through the Lohardaga-Tori route.
The Ranchi railway division came under fire after it was announced that the Ranchi-Jaynagar Express will be extended up to Rourkela. The train serves as a lifeline for hundreds of passengers who travel back and forth to the capital city and Mithilanchal in Bihar.
“The decision to extend the train is welcoming but it has to been seen by the railways that passengers from Ranchi do not miss out on their bookings,” Seth told TOI after the meeting over phone from Rourkela. “The SER general manager (Sanjay Kumar Mohanty) assured that extra coaches will be attached to the train once it becomes operational,” he said.
Seth also sought to know when the services of regular express trains will be restored. “The GM informed that the festive special trains will run till March 30. After that, the chances of the trains getting restored is almost 90%,” he said.
The meeting, which was chaired by Sundargarh MP Jual Oraon, was skipped by 10 MPs of Jharkhand, including Khunti MP and Union tribal affairs minister Arjun Munda. BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Mahesh Poddar, who attended the meeting virtually, suggested that the Ranchi-based Central PSU, Heavy Engineering Corporation, should be handed contracts to build railway coaches, wheel and axle and other railway equipment.
Asserting that the rising petroleum price is burning a hole in people’s pockets, Koda suggested that the zone take the initiative to ensure resumption of passenger and express trains at the earliest.