NEW DELHI: Amid a heavy festive rush, the Indian Railway is working on a plan to run a special Vande Bharat Express train which would cover more than 1,000 kms between New Delhi and Patna. The Vande Bharat Express train will make travel easier and faster for passengers going to Bihar to celebrate the Chhath festival.
A senior official said that the train between Patna and New Delhi would be scheduled to take at least 3-4 trips. “This will be the first time when the IR exhibiting a high degree of obeisance to the Chhatha deity would be running the special Vande Bharat train between Patna and New Delhi on the main route,” said the senior railway official.
The Chhatha festival will take place on November 18 and 19. A railway official added that this would be the longest route covering 1,001kms between Patna and New Delhi. They discussed about the operating feasibility in which creating a smooth running time schedule is primarily decided to keep the fact that punctuality of no other regular trains is affected.
The train will take 10.30 hours to reach the destination. A tentative running schedule has been planned from 7.30 am from Patna to reach New Delhi at 7 pm and originating from New Delhi at 7.35 am to reach Patna at the same time of 7 pm same day covering a distance of 1001 kms.
According to a conservative estimate, around 25-30 lakh people across the country visit Bihar for the festival every year. “More than 4 to 5 lakh people from Delhi visit Bihar. This year, the number is expected to increase up to 6.7 lakh,” added a senior railway official.
The railway has also announced that more than 86 festival special trains will run for Diwali and Chhatha.
They added that more than 65 lakh berths are being arranged in these trains to manage the rush.“We are also arranging extra coaches to clear the festive rush,” said a railway official.