Koraput: The only train connected to this part of the state from Bhubaneswar never reaches the town on time, alleged passengers of the 18447 Bhubaneswar-Jagdalpur Express.

The train, also known as Hirakhand Express, departs from Bhubaneswar railway station at 8.25pm and its scheduled time to arrive Koraput is 10.05am.

The running history of the train reveals that between March 2017 and February 2018, it has arrived late at Koraput for 363 days, while the train has never arrived on time at Koraput up to March 29. The delay ranges from 15 minutes to 250 minutes, leaving the passengers - especially children, senior citizens and patients - high and dry inside the compartments.

"Once you broad the train in Bhubaneswar, you never know at what time it will reach Koraput. The journey up to Rayagada is manageable as it's an overnight journey, but then the 173km journey from Rayagada to Koraput becomes unbearable. It takes seven to eight hours to reach Koraput from Rayagada," said Koraput resident Debasish Patnaik.

Even though the Rayagada-Koraput rail route provides one of the fascinating train journeys with clouds shuttling from one hill to another and the entire stretch filled with tunnels, hills and ravines, the train's delayed running takes all sheen from it as a passenger gets irked by sitting for such a long time.

"Being a tribal-dominated district and situated over 600km from Bhubaneswar, serious efforts should be given to maintain the punctuality of the train. As the train never arrives on time, the authorities concerned should be financially penalised for it," Patnaik said.

"For the past five years, I have been a regular passenger of the train from Bhubaneswar to Koraput. Hardly have I remembered any day on which the train has reached Koraput on time," said Bidyadhar Chowdhury of Koraput who works in Bhubaneswar. "Unwillingly, I am force to travel in this train as there is no other option and my health doesn't permit for bus journey."

Also, it is alleged that the bogies and the toilets remains ill-maintained and at times water goes out of stock on the train. Most of the mobile charging sockets are defunct.

A senior railway official said there were many factors affecting the train's running schedule such as landslide-prone stretches between Rayagada and Koraput, traction failures and fog on tracks in winter. He, however, maintained silence when asked whether these factors attributed to the delay throughout the year.

The East Coast Railway's chief public relation officer Jyoti Prakash Mishra said: "We will look into the matter and needful action will be taken."