Bihar-bound passengers were making a beeline at Dhanbad’s Inter-State Bus Terminus at Bartand to book their tickets till yesterday. But thanks to Eastern and Central Railways, they now have an alternate.

The railways have announced temporary resumption services of 10 popular trains, like the Ganga Damodar Express, which runs between Dhanbad and Patna. It has a stoppage at several stations in Bihar. These trains will be plying between November 10 to November 30 to ferry the native festive crowd to their hamlets for Diwali and Chhath revelry.

Special trains will also ferry passengers with reserved seats on the same route. However, they will have different train numbers. For example, a special train plying on the same train route as that of Ganga Damodar Express will have train numbers 03329 and 03330 instead of its traditional number 13329 and 13330.

Train reservation windows are all set to become functional from tomorrow. But that hasn’t stopped prospective travelers from making queries at the inquiry counter and reservation counter of Dhanbad railway station.

Talking to The Telegraph Online, Ranjit Dutta, said, “Anticipating resumption of train services, we had already readied three rakes of Ganga Damodar Express. But we are cleaning them once again, just ahead of the trail run between Dhanbad and Koderma.”

Cleaning work in progress inside the train coach on Friday Gautam Dey

Senior divisional commercial manager, Akhilesh Kumar Pandey, stated, “Ticket booking for all the ten special trains including Ganga Damodar Express will begin tomorrow. The rakes are ready and so are to run the train on the scheduled time.”

Besides Ganga Damodar Express, Palamu Link Express running between Barakakana to Patna will also originate from Dhanbad Division.

Notably, the Ganga Damodar Express will have a total of 24 coaches - one First AC, two 2- tier AC, four 3- tier AC and nine Sleeper coaches, six general coaches, and two brake vans. Similarly, the Palamu Link Express running between Barkakana to Patna through Gomoh will have 12 coaches - one 2-Tier AC, two 3-Tier AC, three sleepers, four general coaches, and two brake vans.

Expressing happiness over the development, Nitin Bhatt, Dhanbad-based trader and member of Divisional Railway User Consultative Committee of Dhanbad, said, “A large number of people visit their native village in Bihar around this time of the year to celebrate Chhath with their family. The decision to run special trains is a welcome move.”

Janki Express (Jaynagar to Manihari and vice-versa), South Bihar Express (Rajendra Nagar Terminal to Durg and vice versa), and Patna Ranchi Janshatabdi Express (Patna to Ranchi and vice versa) will also be plying during the festive season.