Students board a train at Patna Junction on Wednesday. Picture by Ashok Sinha

Patna, Jan. 19: The winter vacation is over but Bihar students pursuing courses away from the state are still stranded here. Reason: No room in trains.

The waiting lists for trains to Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore for the next few days are too lengthy. Berths of Rajdhani Express and Sangha Mitra Express are booked.

The situation is so desperate that some students are ready pay extra or approach touts for tickets. Others are resigned to travelling in uncomfortable conditions. Help, however, may be close at hand as railway authorities are planning to run special trains to clear the rush.

“I have been waiting to get a confirmed ticket to Bangalore for the past two weeks. But nothing is available, not even in AC first class,” said a student of RVS College, Bangalore.

The student, who had come to Patna Junction this morning to try his luck again, added: “I will have to travel in the general compartment. I do not have any other option as I have to reach on time for my classes, which are scheduled to start from the first week of February.”

Another student, waiting at the serpentine line in front of a reservation counter at Patna Junction, said: “I had come to book a tatkal ticket to Chennai. But nothing is available. I have to look for a tout or a travel agent who can get a ticket for me. I do not mind paying extra.”

Touts are cashing in on the situation. Some of them stood near the reservation centres bargaining ticket prices with the passengers. But it will not be easy to get tickets through crooked means. The railway officials are on their toes to check touts.

“We know that touts do brisk business in times of such rush. So we have deployed extra Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel to keep tabs on them,” said Ranjit Kumar Singh, the public relations officer of Danapur division.

Singh added: “Security has been beefed up near the booking counters to check the authenticity of tickets. The RPF jawans are on their toes.”

The unseasonal rush, however, is frustrating passengers.

“I cannot understand why no tickets are available. This is not a festive season,” said Abhishek Kumar, a student of Ramaiah Engineering College in Bangalore.

Dilip Kumar, the chief public relations officer of East Central Railway, said: “We will be running special trains to clear the rush. Extra compartments may also be attached to long-distance trains to help the passengers.”