SILCHAR, Dec 1 - The soothing words from the Union Minister of Railways, Suresh Prabhu, and the Minister of State (Railways), Manoj Sinha, during the ceremonial inauguration of the Silchar-Guwahati fast passenger train on November 21 that a number of trains will be running from Silchar taking people to various parts of the country was greeted by the people with loud cheers.
But within 10 days of the commencement of the broad gauge train, commuters here are raising voice that the solitary train which leaves Silchar everyday is largely inadequate to meeting the burgeoning rush of passengers.
According to information received from the Railway office in Silchar, no further reservation of tickets is possible till the year end which has already created a lot of annoyance among the people here.
�The new broad gauge Silchar-Guwahati section commissioned by spending crores of rupees will remain underutilised if more trains are not given to meet huge rush for tickets,� said Rajesh Dutta. The commuters demand, in one voice, introduction of more express and passenger trains both in the day and night hours in this section with immediate effect for the benefit of all sections of the society.
A cross-section of the commuters is disappointed regarding the timing of the train. They said that the people from far flung areas are finding it difficult to arrive at the station at midnight to catch the train at 5 am.
�The people living in Silchar have easy access to the modes of communication. But how will the passengers coming from the outskirts and further remote areas reach the station in the wee hours. The timings must be changed,� the passengers echoed.
On the other hand, the people are also raising voice for enhanced passenger amenities since the stations falling on the route are not yet fully equipped with improved facilities like food and water.
