Anand Tiwari, Patna
After the consecration in Ayodhya Ram temple, preparations are also going to be started by East Central Railway to run Aastha special from across the country for the darshan of Ramlala. A proposal to run Aastha special train from Patna Junction of Danapur division to Ayodhya via DDU was sent to the board, which has been approved. Soon the Railways will also announce the running of the train.
When is the train expected to start?
It is being told that after January 30, this train is expected to run for one or two days. On the other hand, an Aastha special train will also run from Kolkata via Patna. According to railway experts, a proposal has been sent for one Aastha special train each from major stations like Darbhanga and Muzaffarpur in Poomre. A total of more than five Aastha special trains are expected to run from Poomare zone.
IRCTC will be given the responsibility of running trains
In fact, the Railway Board has decided to run Aastha Express from every corner of the country for the devotees coming here after the consecration of Ramlala in Ayodhya on January 22. However, these trains will run for the next two to three months. The responsibility of running these trains has been given to IRCTC. The monitoring of the zone through which the Aastha special train will pass will be the responsibility of the nearby zone only. The specialty of this train will be that passengers will be able to book tickets for both the journey and journey. After reaching Ayodhya and having darshan, we will return by this train. Besides, services like escorting parties, OBHS staff etc. will be provided for the safety of the passengers.
Six berths reserved for catering on three coaches
According to the plan proposed by Poomre, the facility of six free berths in each of three coaches will be provided for IRCTC employees in Aastha special train. Their employees will not be charged any money for distribution and transportation of food services in these trains. Tickets for Aastha special trains will be issued through IRCTC tourist portal. This train will not appear in the PRS database. Ticket booking can be done only through IRCTC.
There is no train from Patna to Ayodhya on 22 January
There is no train from Patna Junction to Ayodhya on 21st and 22nd January. Due to track maintenance and construction, NIA work is going on in Barabanki, due to which the train is leaving for Delhi etc. via Lucknow instead of going to Ayodhya. Although there are some trains from Patna to Lucknow. These include Shramjeevi, Patna Kota, Farakka, Patliputra Chandigarh, Patna Indore Express. In Patliputra Chandigarh on 21st January, there is 17 waiting in 3 AC coaches and 26 in sleeper. Whereas in Shramjeevi Express, today there is 21 waiting in 3 AC coaches and 51 in sleeper. Farakka Express has 3 ACs with 10 waiting seats and 27 sleeper seats.
Preparation to run train for darshan
Poomre’s Chief Public Relations Officer Virendra Kumar said that after the consecration in Ayodhya, preparations have been made to run Aastha Special from across the country for the darshan of Ramlala. In this sequence, preparations are being made to run Aastha special train from major stations including Patna Junction of Poomre. The train will run for the devotees as soon as the notification comes from the Railway Board.