The Asansol-Dhanbad MEMU (63543/63544), running between the two towns, and the CoalField Express (12339/12340) have resumed their services from Wednesday after being suspended for 254 days due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown and a subsequent halt in rail operations.
Street vendors, office goers, students and small time traders are rejoicing at the move, as they can now easily connect to different parts of Bengal including Asansol, Durgapur and Calcutta from Dhanbad.
Talking to The Telegraph Online at the Dhanbad Railway station on Wednesday, Sumit Bhattacharya, an Asansol resident, said, “I came here at Dhanbad at my in-laws’ place two days ago on bus and came to know about the restoration of Asansol Dhanbad MEMU train afterwards. I booked the ticket yesterday (Tuesday) to return to my native place at Asansol to avoid the bus journey, which is expensive as well as causes a lot of exhaustion.” The Sunshine Steel Pvt Ltd. employee boarded the train from Dhanbad at 8 am to reach Asansol at 9:50 am.
Pramod Kumar, a student residing at the Sijua area of Dhanbad, appeared to have similar opinions. “The train journey is quite comfortable.The best part is that there is no usual rush in the train as only limited tickets have been sold for the second seating arrangement,” he said, as he boarded the train on Wednesday morning at Dhanbad to reach his maternal uncle’s place at Asansol.
“The restoration of the train after more than eight months has provided great relief to the people like us who were compelled to make expensive, unsafe and uncomfortable journeys on bike or in buses,” Vishnu Mandal, a resident of Kalubathan in Dhanbad, said. Mandal reached the Dhanbad railway Station at 9:30 am in the Asansol Dhanbad MEMU to join his duty at a local factory in the town.
