Onlookers watch as the new Darbhanga-Biroul train chugs out of the Darbhanga railway station on Sunday. Picture by Mohan Mahato

Darbhanga, July 24: Residents no longer have to take the crowded bus to travel 50km to Biroul. Darbhanga MP Kirti Azad flagged off the Darbhanga-Biroul Passenger from Darbhanga railway station at 4pm today.

Apart from Azad, Samastipur divisional railway manager S.P. Trivedi, senior divisional commercial manager Samir Kumar, Darbhanga mayor Ajay Paswan, Gaura Bauram MLA Izhar Ahmed, Benipur MLA Gopaljee Thakur and chairman of zila parishad Hari Sahani were also present at the flag-off today.

The new train will make three trips daily. The route of Biroul-Sakari Passenger was also extended to Darbhanga today. The Biroul-Sakari Passenger would also make three trips a day.

On July 15, Azad and Paswan had made the demand for the new Darbhanga-Biroul passenger train before the general manager of East Central Railways, A.K. Shrivastava, when he came for a routine inspection of the railway line between Samastipur and Darbhanga.

Sanjay Jha, a businessman who boarded the Darbhanga-Biroul train today, told The Telegraph: “I have to travel between Darbhanga and Biroul frequently for business purpose. In the absence of a train, I had to take the bus and had to pay much more for carrying my goods. This new train between Biroul and Darbhanga will not only save my time but also my money. As the frequency of the trains is also more, I won’t have to wait for buses that charge exorbitant rates.”

Travelling to Biroul by bus takes more than two hours while the train journey would take less than an hour.

On the start of the new train and the extension of the Biroul-Sakari route, senior divisional commercial manager Samir Kumar told The Telegraph: “These steps have been taken based on discussions between the public representatives and the East Central Railways general manager.”

Samir added: “The public representatives had raised several issues at the meeting with the general manager on July 15. They demanded construction of a foot overbridge at the Darbhanga railway station, addition of a pantry car on the Darbhanga-Hyderabad Express, which started on July 10, additional passenger trains between Samastipur and Darbhanga and construction of three road overbridges at different places. The general manager had assured them that their problems would be considered and steps would be taken as soon as possible.”

Samir and the Samastipur divisional railway manager was also present at the July 15 meeting.

At the meeting, the mayor had raised his voice against the problem of waterlogging within the town area because of the railway tracks. He had said: “Waterlogging is common in the town, particularly in ward numbers 15, 16, and 17. The railway station and the high-level railway tracks block the eastward flow of water. Culverts need to constructed near the railway station to solve the waterlogging problem.”

Paswan later told The Telegraph: “The general manager of East Central Railway said most of the problems brought to his notice fell under the jurisdiction of the divisional railway manager. Since, Trivedi was also present at the meeting, he had assured us he would soon conduct a meeting to solve the problems.”