The passengers' wait for an executive lounge at Patna Junction just got longer.

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) has failed to attract any bidder to set up an executive lounge at Patna Junction - yet again. This was the IRCTC's fourth attempt to invite bidders for the project conceived in 2012. Sources said the terms of the tender were changed every time to make the project attractive for the bidders but in vain.

"Repeated attempts to set up the executive lounge at Patna Junction has turned futile as no bidder showed interest in the project. We had invited the bid four times," said S.A. Karim, Patna regional manager of IRCTC.

The executive lounge would be one like at airports where passengers will be able to rest in dormitories. The lounge would have a TV, music system, sofa-cum-bed, phone and wi-fi-enabled areas. Passengers in transit could freshen up, sip tea, coffee or cold drinks and even grab a quick bite.

On the reason for bidders not turning up for the project, Karim said: "I don't know but one reason could be that many trains have been shifted to Patliputra Junction causing a dip in footfall at Patna Junction."

Thirty-five pairs of trains have been shifted to Patliputra Junction, but Rajdhani Express still departs from here. #"We cannot just depend on Rajdhani and moreover its passengers prefer to book hotels and get most things they require on the train," Karim said.

Important trains departing from Patliputra Junction include Dibrugarh Rajdhani express, Guwahati-Anand Vihar North East Express, Sampark Kranti Express, Seemanchal Express and Lokmanya Tilak Kamakhya Express.

The executive lounge was planned in 2012 and in the first phase it was decided to provide the facility at 50 railway stations across India. Within a year, the executive lounge was set up at Ajmeri Gate in New Delhi station. Platform No. 1 of Patna Junction was selected to set it up at Rs 2 crore. As per initial plan, the lounge will cater to at least 100 passengers. The failures notwithstanding, IRCTC is planning to make a fifth attempt to attract bidders.

"We will invite fresh biddings next month. We will keep trying until we succeed. In the past, we made several changes to the terms and conditions, making it bidder-friendly, but bidders still have not shown interest," Karim said.

Earlier, a five-year duration was given to the bidder to run the lounge, later it was extended to nine years, including monetary support to the executing agency, but all attempts to woo bidders have so far proved futile.