Hatia-Pune train chugs out OUR CORRESPONDENT Chief Minister Arjun Munda, Union tourism minister Subodh Kant Sahay and mayor Rama Khalkho flag off the Hatia-Pune Superfast Express in Ranchi district on Wednesday. Picture by Prashant Mitra A decade-old dream of capital residents hit the tracks on Wednesday. Chief minister Arjun Munda, accompanied by Union tourism minister Subodh Kant Sahay, flagged off the much-awaited Hatia-Pune Superfast Express from Hatia railway station. Railway officials, including general manager of South East Railway A.K. Verma, was present on the occasion. The new train will run twice a week on the Hatia-Pune route via Durg, Wardha, Badnera and Ahmednagar. From Hatia, the train (22846) will chug out at 8pm on Mondays and Fridays and leave Pune at 10.45am on Wednesdays and Sundays. Members of passenger associations’ and Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce and Industries had been demanding the train for the past decade as the route did not have any direct train from Jharkhand though a large number of students from this region study in education institutions of Pune. Congress worker Ajay Rai, who was among the lucky 300 to have booked a ticket in the new train, was elated to be part of the maiden journey. The chief minister congratulated the railway officials on the occasion, but said the state expected more from them. “Residents of Jharkhand have a lot of expectations from the railways and I receive many memoranda for new trains. Hatia-Pune Superfast Express which will run only twice a week needs to be converted into a daily train. Also, other trains which ply twice or thrice a week should run everyday,” Munda said. He also recounted his unpleasant experience aboard Ranchi-Delhi Rajdhani Express. “The coaches of Ranchi-Delhi Rajdhani are very old and infested with bugs and rats. On the other hand, the coaches of Sealdah-Delhi Rajdhani are in a very good condition. Railway minister Dinesh Trivedi had promised me that he would come to Ranchi to discuss issues related to train service here. But he is yet to paid that visit,” Munda said. Earlier, Sahay also expressed concern about the services provided on Ranchi-Delhi Rajdhani. “My ministry will be happy to fund the Ranchi railway division if it plans to convert the state capital and other cities into a tourist destination,” he added. Top
Posted on: Sun, 03 Nov 2013 07:04:15 +0000
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