Pune: Ravi Kumar Jha, a resident of Balewadi, dropped his travel plans to Patna with his family for Diwali and Chhath festivals owing to steep hike in airfares and unavailability of train tickets . "The one-way airfare per person to Patna from Pune during Diwali is around Rs 23,000, which I can't afford. Even train tickets are unavailable, too.
I tried to book tickets on Pune-Danapur Express but couldn't get any seats in any of the classes. Even waiting tickets are not available. Hence, I won't be travelling, and it is very disappointing," Jha, who works in a private company, said.
With airfares during the festive season soaring, getting seats on trains to north and east-bound cities has become extremely tough for many, resulting in them either cancelling trips or trying to find other alternatives to reach home during Diwali. Almost all trains going towards Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi etc are fully booked, a railway official told TOI, adding that even Diwali special trains, set to start from October 19, are totally booked. "For example, Pune-Danapur Express has a waitlist of over 100 in all classes.
And there are no waitlist tickets right from October 23 to November 3. In case of Azad Hind Express, the waitlist on AC-3 and sleeper class at present is more than 200. For AC-2, the waitlist is around 50.
For Jhelum Express, which goes to Jammu Tawi, the situation is the same with high to very high waiting in all classes," a senior rail official in Pune told TOI. Milind H.