Intercity Express losing passengers due to late running

DARBHANGA: The passengers havegradually started deserting the new Darbhanga-Patna Intercity Express train dueto its late running almost everyday since its introduction on September 9.People are resorting to bus services now.Two teachers of the Lalit NarainMithila University (LNMU), who went Patna by this train three hours late onWednesday, vowed not to board this train again. According to railway sources,this train reaches Patna two to three hours late everyday. Its arrival time inPatna is 10.45 am. Similarly, the train returns to Darbhanga from Patna 2-3hours late everyday. Its arrival time at Darbhanga is 9.25 pm.The traintakes six to seven hours in covering the distance between Patna and Darbhanga.The one-way fare (from Patna to Darbhanga) of IInd class of this train is Rs 68,six rupees more than the fare of the bus. The bus journey takes four to fivehours to cover the distance between Patna and Darbhanga. Naturally, people havestarted avoiding this train.DN Saraswati, a teacher of the Englishdepartment of CM College, Darbhanga, said people have completely lost faith inthis train introduced by railway minister Nitish Kumar with much fanfare.Darbhanga railway station sources confirmed that number of passengersopting for this train was declining day by day due to its late running. Sourcessaid during the first fortnight after the introduction of this train, 200-225tickets, on an average, were sold for Patna daily.