People travelling on a train at Patna Sahib station on Wednesday. Picture by Sachin

Patna, April 27: A train journey to Patna Sahib, Rajendra Nagar or even Patna Junction is not as simple as it might sound.

For those on the train and even for the witnesses the sight describes it all — people hanging from the trains, sitting on the vestibules and many others travelling on the top. People across all ages, including students, travel in trains in that manner day in day out.

In the past one month, alone 60 people, including about 40 students, have been injured in train accidents, mainly because of travelling in this manner.

Railway officials said in many such accidents people lose their legs, hands and critically injure themselves. Most of the students who met with an accident in the past month came to Patna to attend tuition or coaching classes.

Students complained that there are very few passenger trains in the morning and so missing one train delays their journey a lot and they are not left with another option.

There are rules that prevent people from travelling in trains on rooftops and by hanging, but railway authorities do not implement them as the “passengers never follow them”, railway authorities said.

Rupesh Kumar, a student from Mokama was found travelling dangerously when a passenger train reached Patna Sahib railway station. “I am not travelling like this on my own wish. Nobody wants to travel like this, but we do not have an option. There is absolutely no space inside. How do I get in?” he asked.

But not everybody is as helpless as Rupesh. There are some who choose to take a risk.

“I like to travel on rooftop because it is windy here. I have been doing this for the past five years. It is risky but the experience is thrilling as well,” said Priyesh Ranajan, who was travelling by a Patna-Jhajha train on the rooftop.

When The Telegraph went to various railway stations in the state capital it found out that the cops did not do enough to stop such travelling.

A senior CRPF official at Patna Junction said: “The frequent accidents show that youngsters are not practical enough to understand the problems of travelling in this manner. It is not as if they do not know that it is unsafe and illegal to travel like this but mostly young students seem to enjoy travelling this way. we do catch some people from time to time for travelling in this manner. We try and ensure that nobody repeats this offence.”

Mangani Ram, a tea stall owner at platform number 8 at Patna Junction, said: “People travel in this manner mostly during the daytime, but you would find people travelling on top of trains even at night. It is not about lack of trains, even when coaches are empty, there is a section of people who prefer travelling in such a risky manner.”