Trains fully booked ahead of Navratri

JAIPUR: With just a week left for the festive season to begin with Navratri, Durga Puja, Dussehra, followed by Diwali, majority of the trains to important destinations, including Howrah, Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Mumbai, are fully booked with no seats left.

While passengers hoping to see their near and dear ones during Diwali may still get lucky, those looking to travel for Dussehra and Durga Puja may find no berths.

Though North Western Railway (NWR) has made some arrangements like increasing bogies and introducing special trains, these may not be enough to meet the festival rush.

Many passengers who went to book tickets over the weekend had to return empty-handed. Navratras will begin on October 1.

"Most of the trains, including Howrah-Jodhpur Aashram Express, Sampark Kranti, Pooja Express and Jaipur-Mumbai, are fully reserved. People are trying their luck by taking waiting list tickets," said an official with the reservation office at Jaipur Railway Station on Sunday. Many passengers who tried to book tickets online nearly two months ago were also unlucky as hacking gangs blocked the railway website to block tickets in bulk.

The attempts to prevent malpractices by hackers by Indian Railways have not been successful. "I have a ticket for Ahmedabad on October 6 which is 36 on the waiting list. I hope to get it confirmed, otherwise I would have to haggle with the ticket examiner for a seat," said Aniket Dave, a Jaipur-based IT professional and a native of Ahmedabad.

The situation is not much different for those wanting to travel to Maharashtra and West Bengal. "Most of the trains to these destinations are booked and are on waiting list or have no room. We are adding some bogies to these trains to meet the rush," said an officer with the railways. Recently, the railways introduced extra coaches in at least 20 different trains passing through various stations of the state.