Patna: Flight disruptions across the country have created major difficulties for passengers, especially after IndiGo, India’s biggest airline, began facing operational problems on 3 December. Since then, many people have been unable to board their scheduled flights, and several more faced delays on Sunday as well. With air travel becoming uncertain, large numbers of travellers have started turning to trains, leading to a sudden rise in rail bookings and heavy crowds at stations.
In response to this growing rush, Indian Railways has begun taking special steps to help passengers reach their destinations. Officials have started adding extra coaches to premium trains such as the Rajdhani and the Sampoorna Kranti Superfast Express. Sleeper, 3AC, 2AC and even 1AC coaches are being attached wherever space and capacity allow. The Patna–Delhi route has been hit the hardest, and almost every major train on this line is fully booked. This includes popular trains like the Tejas Rajdhani, the Howrah–New Delhi Rajdhani, the Dibrugarh–New Delhi Rajdhani and the Amrit Bharat Express.
Abhinav Siddharth, Senior DCM of the Danapur Railway Division, said the department is carefully monitoring passenger numbers and adding coaches as needed. He requested travellers to check their reservation status before leaving home and to reach the station early due to heavy crowds. To support people whose flights were cancelled at short notice, the Railways has also set up a special helpdesk at Patna Airport. Staff at the helpdesk are guiding passengers and trying to offer quick alternatives for immediate travel.
A special Patna–Anand Vihar Terminal train has also been arranged to handle the extra rush. The train (02309) will depart from Patna at 8.30pm on Monday and reach Anand Vihar Terminal at 3pm on Tuesday. Its return service (02310) will leave on Tuesday evening and reach Patna on Wednesday afternoon. However, despite being introduced for emergency travel, all seats in this special train have already been filled. On Monday, the situation remained the same across premium trains on the Rajdhani route. No seats were available in any class of the Tejas Rajdhani, the Dibrugarh–New Delhi Rajdhani, the Sampoorna Kranti Superfast Express or the Amrit Bharat Express, showing how high the demand for train travel has become while air services remain disrupted.
