Union minister of state for food processing Subodh Kant Sahay flag offs the Ranchi-Delhi Garib Rath Express on Wednesday. Picture by Hardeep Singh

Ranchi, Jan. 28: With 100-odd passengers on board, the eagerly awaited Ranchi-Delhi Garib Rath Express today chugged out of Ranchi station.

The bi-weekly, low-fare train was flagged off by the Union minister of state for food processing, Subodh Kant Sahay, who was accompanied by RJD MP Ghuran Ram and BJP Rajya Sabha member Parimal Nathwani at a function here.

The minister also flagged off the Ranchi-Choupan Express along with the Garib Rath at the same event.

“Ranchi passengers have been waiting for better trains for a long time that would connect them to parts of our country, especially to south India. I will talk to the railway minister regarding the matter,” said Sahay, while praising Lalu Prasad for his efforts.

Prominent among the participants were Lalu supporters who proudly flaunted their party flag and shouted slogans in praise of Lalu as the new train chugged out.

“People in Daltonganj have been calling me up to ask about the train and its timing. The launch has generated a lot of enthusiasm,” said Ghuran Ram, the Palamau MP. MLA Girinath Singh was also all praise for the railway minister, who he said really understood the poor.

After Ranchi, Daltonganj (in Palamau) would be the train’s second destination before making a stop at Garhwa Road and Japla before entering Uttar Pradesh.

“Only for today the train would stop to collect passengers and then proceed to New Delhi without sticking to a time schedule. However from February 2, it would run according to a tight schedule,” said Soumitra Majumdar, the chief public relations officer of South Eastern Railway.

The train contains 16 AC-III coaches with each coach containing 78 berths. Tickets would be for Rs 654, a 40 per cent discount on normal AC-III fares which is around Rs 1,100, while the same for Rajdhani costs around Rs 1,450.