Question : Extension of Trains

(a) whether devotees from Saurashtra come to Haridwar all through the year and 6 lakh people came to Haridwar last year to take a holy dip in the Ganga but the common people are facing difficulties in the booking of Uttarachal express as all the seats of the said weekly train are booked within three minutes of the opening of online ticket booking and if so, the facts thereof;

(b) whether Uttarachal Express should be operated at least thrice a week in view of the above mentioned situation;

(c) whether Delhi-Porbandar train should be extended to Haridwar via Jetalsar-Dhoraji-Upleta and if so, the details thereof;

(d) whether Haridwar-Delhi-Ahmedabad mail should be extended to Rajkot and operated on daily basis so that the people in Saurashtra are able to use the daily service of the said train to reach Haridwar;

(e) if so, whether the said train should be operated daily or thrice a week as the people of Saurashtra have waited for the said train for the last 22 years; and

(f) if so, the response of the Government in this regard?

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND
ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)


(a) to (f) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (f) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2946 BY SHRI RAMESHBHAI LAVJIBHAI DHADUK TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 15.12.2021 REGARDING EXTENSION OF TRAINS

(a) During the financial year 2020-21, 24,680 reserved passengers travelled by rail from prominent stations of Saurashtra region like Ahmedabad, Dwarka, Hapa, Jamnagar, Khambhaliya, Okha, Rajkot, Sabarmati, Surendranagar and Viramgam to Haridwar. On Indian Railways, the pattern of booking of reserved tickets is not uniform throughout the year and it varies during peak and lean periods. During peak rush periods, the reserved accommodation especially in upper class and on popular routes gets exhausted within short duration after opening of reservation whereas in lower classes and on less popular routes, the confirmed accommodation remains available for comparatively longer duration. A sample study of the booking pattern of train numbers 19565 & 19566 – Okha- Dehradun Uttaranchal Express during three months period from September, 2021 to November, 2021, has revealed that in case of 19566 Dehradun- Okha Express, on one day only, in the above mentioned period, the waiting list in 2AC started at 0801 hours. On all other days and classes there has not been any instance where waiting list started on the day of opening of reservation. In case of 19565 Okha- Dehradun Express, there has not been even a single instance in the three months period where waiting list started on the day of opening of reservation.

(b) to (f) Owing to operational constraints including path constraints on sections enroute and constraints at Dehradun, at present the increase in frequency of 19565/66 Okha-Dehradun Uttaranchal Express is not feasible. Extension of 20937/38 Porbandar-Delhi Sarai Rohilla Express upto Haridwar and that of 19031/32 Haridwar-Ahmedabad Yoga Express upto Rajkot is not feasible at present, due to operational constraints including insufficient lie-over at Delhi and Ahmedabad. However, passengers desirous of travelling to Haridwar, may avail change over at Ahmedabad and use the daily service of 19031/32 Haridwar-Ahmedabad Yoga Express. Besides, increase in frequency and extension of train services is an on-going process on Indian Railways subject to operational feasibility, traffic justification etc.
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