Khagaria: Every day, trains slow to a halt at Bharatkhand, a nondescript railway stop in Bihar’s Khagaria district. But rarely do passengers disembark. Despite being a functional halt on the railway map, Bharatkhand has earned an eerie reputation—locals now refer to it as Bihar’s “haunted halt”.
Though not haunted in the supernatural sense, the station’s deserted appearance, lack of basic infrastructure, and rising security concerns have driven passengers away. Located on the route connecting the Parbatta block, Bharatkhand Halt suffers from poor maintenance and near-total administrative neglect.
“There is no electricity, no toilets, no drinking water, and not even a proper passenger shed,” said Rakesh Kumar, a regular commuter. “Incidents of snatching have become common. My family warned me not to get off here.”
The approach road to the station is equally bleak. According to Ashish Kumar, another passenger, the route is enveloped by jungle, leaving travellers vulnerable. “There is no clear path. Sometimes tickets aren’t even available, and if you’re caught without one, there’s a fine,” he said.
Despite these issues, Bharatkhand remains an important connector for several villages, including Khajraitha in the Gogri-Parbatta region. Yet the roads linking the halt to National Highway 31 and Bharatkhand’s road number 14 are either broken or non-existent.
The sense of abandonment is evident in its dwindling usage. “Three up and three down passenger trains stop here daily,” station master Himanshu Kumar said. “Earlier, daily revenue was higher. Now, it has dropped to between Rs 500 to Rs 1,000.”
He added that tickets are manually sourced from Bihpur and distributed from the halt, which lacks even a fan at the ticket office. “There is a hand pump, but it often fails. The road is in such poor condition that it’s difficult to even walk to the station.”
Established on 15 January 1999 by the then Railway Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, Bharatkhand Halt was inaugurated with much promise. Villagers recall that during British rule, a proper Indian railway station once stood here—now reduced to scattered remains.
Locals insist the railway department has turned a blind eye. “Nothing has changed since it was built. People don’t feel safe anymore. That’s why they prefer travelling from nearby stations instead,” said a resident.
