Lok Sabha Question No. 4793 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-29
Subject: Direct Rail Service from Banka to Metropolitan Cities
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Giridhari Yadav

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4793 TO BE ANSWERED ON 29.03.2023

## DIRECT RAIL SERVICE FROM BANKA TO METROPOLITAN CITIES

†4793. SHRI GIRIDHARI YADAV:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  there  is  excess  crowd  in  the  Howrah-Delhi  main  route  or  the stations located in the vicinity of Bihar due to less seats in the trains being operated as a result of  which  the  passengers  with  reserved  seats  have  to face a lot of problems;
- (b)  if  so,  whether  the  Government  is  likely  to  resolve  the  said  issue  by formulating an action plan for the current and future situation and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (c)  whether  Banka district  of  Bihar  is  one  of  the  backward  districts  of  the country and a large number of people have to go to metropolitan cities for employment and medical treatment;
- (d) if so, whether there is lack of direct rail service to any metropolitan city from this place;
- (e) if so, the details thereof;
- (f) whether people have to face a lot of difficulties in commuting;
- (g)  if  so,  whether the Government proposes to operate one train each from Banka  to  headquarters  of  Delhi  and  Mumbai  and  others  to  connect  Banka with other parts of the country; and
- (h) if so, the time by which the said trains are likely to be operated and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

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

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STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (h) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4793 BY SHRI GIRIDHARI YADAV TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 29.03.2023 REGARDING DIRECT RAIL SERVICE FROM BANKA TO METROPOLITAN CITIES (a)  &  (b)  Kolkata-Delhi  sector  is  presently  being  served  by  15  pairs  of Mail/Express  train  services,  having  both  reserved  as  well  as  unreserved accommodation, serving prominent stations located in Bihar like Patna, Gaya etc. On Indian Railways, demand pattern of passenger booking is not uniform throughout the year and it varies over lean and peak periods.  Waiting list position of trains and also sale of tickets on different sectors is monitored on regular basis and to cater to additional demand, load of existing trains are augmented, special trains are run, new trains are introduced, frequency of existing  trains  is  increased  etc.  subject  to  operational  feasibility,  traffic demands, resource availability etc. (c) During financial year 2022-23 (upto February, 2023), the total number of passengers  who  travelled  from  Banka  to  various  cities  of  India  including metropolitan cities is approximately 2.63 lakh.

(d)  to  (h)  Introduction  of  new  train  from  Banka  station  is  not  feasible,  at present, due to operational and resource constraints including maintenance constraints.    However,  Banka  station  is  presently  connected  to  Bhagalpur (53 Km) by 02 pairs of Mail/Express services and 03 pairs of Passenger train services, to Deoghar (61 Km) by 01 pair of Mail/Express train services and 02 pairs  of  Passenger  train  services.    Bhagalpur  and  Deoghar/Jasidih  are connected to most of the prominent cities in India.

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