The residents of Dhanbad and particularly patients visiting the Christian Medical College and Hospital at Vellore are facing a lot of difficulty due to the delay in the restoration services of Dhanbad Alappuzha Express. The Dhanbad Alappuzha Express runs between Dhanbad and Alappuzha through Katpadi (Vellore).

Talking to The Telegraph Online on Sunday, Patron of Federation of Dhanbad Zila Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Rajesh Kumar Gupta said, “We demand immediate restoration of the train as the health care facilities of towns like Dhanbad are largely dependent on the facilities of the south Indian cities including Chennai (Apollo Hospital Chennai) and Vellore (Christian Medical College and Hospital).”

“Recent reports of Covid-19 tests of the patients carried out at the railway station and particularly the report of last four-five days indicated zero positive cases and thus it indicates the lessening of the Covid-19 crisis, so I do not think that there is much risk involved in the restoration of the train,” stated Gupta.

“The resumption of Dhanbad Alappuzha Express, on the other hand, will prove as life-saving for hundreds of patients of the economically backward section of the society who are suffering due to the suspension of the train services since the lockdown,” said Gupta, who is also the member of Divisional Railway Users Consultative Committee of Dhanbad. He added that they also demand the restoration of all local passenger trains so that the people can have some relief.

Echoing sentiments, Pintu Kumar Singh, district president of Janata Dal (U) and member of Zonal Railway Users Consultative Committee, said, “The restoration of Howrah Mumbai Mail since December 1 has provided much-needed relief to patients travelling to Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai. Now, we hope that the railway board will also give permission for the restoration of Dhanbad Alappuzha Express by the end of the month.”

“I had raised the issue with the top railway officials on several occasions and they have assured restoration of train services by December end,” informed Singh.

Notably, the six bogeys of the rack of Dhanbad Alappuzha Express have already been prepared at coach depot of Dhanbad Railway Station. The Dhanbad Railway Division is only awaiting the nod of the division to restore the train and sending repeated reminders to East Central Railway Headquarters at Hajipur in this regard.

Senior Divisional Commercial Manager of Dhanbad Division of East Central Railway, Akhilesh Kumar Pandey said, “We have raised the issue or restoration of Dhanbad Alappuzha Express with East Central Railway authorities on Sunday also but since there is no notification by the railway board, we can’t run the train immediately. We will run the train as soon as the railway board’s nod comes.”