Passengers get off a train between Danapur and Patna on Friday. Picture by Jai Prakash

Patna, April 22: The rail journey from Danapur to Patna Junction should not exceed 20 minutes. But often trains take three to five hours to cover the 9km stretch. The inordinate delay has triggered a blame game between passengers and railway authorities.

Passengers accused the East Central Railway (ECR) officials of giving green signal to the trains late once they reach Danapur. The railway authorities, on the other hand, said passengers often pull chain and stop trains.

Whatever be the cause, trains like Farakka Express (13135), Sanghamitra Express (12295), Secunderabad Express (12791), Lokmanya Tilak Express (13202) and Mathura-Patna Express (13240) took three hours on an average to cover the distance on Wednesday.

“The train reached Ara station almost on time. But from Danapur, the delay started,” said Rishikesh Tripathy, a passenger on the Secunderabad Express.

He added: “This is not the first time this happened. Trains are almost always delayed at Danapur. The train is stopped there and then at the secretariat halt for hours. It is an unnecessary trouble.”

After waiting for sometime, most passengers prefer to get down at Danapur to take an autorickshaw or a bus to Patna.

On being asked about the cause for delay, Ranjit K. Singh, public relations officer, Danapur division, said: “Patna Junction is often choked with a number of trains. That forces us to delay the trains for sometime. But it is never for three to five hours. Unless the trains from Patna Junction move ahead, how can we allow the trains at Danapur to move? We cannot compromise on the safety of the passengers,” he added.

Passengers, however, have a different story to tell.

“I had to wait for almost two-and-a-half hours yesterday. Is this the way to run trains? Why don’t they stop the service altogether? This happens all the time. I don’t understand the reason for such a long delay regularly,” said Sanjay Singh, a regular passenger on the route.

A source said many passengers get off at the secretariat halt, as it takes hours to reach Patna Junction from there. Ideally, trains should take no more than five minutes.

Gardanibagh resident Amrit Raj, who got off the train at the secretariat halt, said: “By the time the train reaches Patna Junction, I will be home. It will take the train another hour to reach Patna. It is better to take an autorickshaw instead of waiting on the train.”

Officials, however, claim that unnecessary chain pulling by passengers is another cause for the delay.

“Chain pulling is a problem for Patna-bound trains. As soon as the trains reach Mughalsarai, passengers start pulling the emergency chain as they like. This naturally delays the train,” said Singh.

He added: “Passengers pulling the chain without any reason are supposed to be fined. But they take advantage of the available facility. Also, long-distance trains are boarded by passengers who want to travel within the state. When the train nears their destination, they pull the chain to get off.”

Two months ago, ECR released a list according to which as many as 1,800 passenger trains got delayed in five divisions because of an increase in chain pulling.

Sources, however, said the washing pit at Rajendra Nagar railway station is always jam-packed. Once a train reaches Patna Junction, it directly goes to the Rajendra Nagar terminal for cleaning. This is another reason that trains get delayed after reaching Danapur.