Only 28 passengers alighted at Berhampur railway station from the Bhubaneswar-Berhampur-Bhubaneswar special train on Monday night. And out of the 107 persons who had booked tickets to travel to Bhubaneswar, 97 boarded the train at Berhampur station on Tuesday morning when it started its return journey. The train had a capacity of about 650 seats.
The special train was the first passenger train to travel from Berhampur to Bhubaneswar after a gap of 76 days following the stoppage of services as part of the COVID-19 lockdown. The passengers had been advised to reach Berhampur station 90 minutes before the train’s departure at 7.05 a.m. All passengers had to undergo thermal screening before entering Berhampur railway station.
Intra-State train services resumed in Odisha from Monday, with the operation of six special trains connecting the State capital Bhubaneswar with Berhampur, Sambalpur, Rourkela, Bhadrak, Koraput and Bolangir. According to East Coast Railway (ECoR) officials, these six trains would run as special trains between June 8 and July 1. But there would be no services on Saturdays and Sundays.
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The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said passenger strength in all the six trains had remained low. The highest number of passengers — 150 to 200 — had travelled in the trains that operated between Bhubaneswar and Sambalpur, Bolangir or Rourkela as well as on their return journeys. Railway officials expect the number of passengers would rise in the coming days as more and more people become aware about the resumption of intra-State train services. Despite small number of passengers, these intra-State trains would operate in a bid to help in the resumption of normal life amid the pandemic.
Most passengers boarding the train at Berhampur station on Tuesday morning said they were travelling out of compulsion and extreme need even though they were wary of the risk of infection. Railway authorities asserted that all the trains and stations were being thoroughly sanitised and all necessary precautions were being taken to protect the health of passengers.
