Railway Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Saturday flagged off the weekly Patna-Vasco da Gama Express from Patna Junction amidst the presence of other RJD leaders including Shyam Rajak and Ram Kripal Yadav.
The train, with a capacity of carrying 730 passengers, however had only 91 passengers on its debut run due to inadequate publicity of the new service, railway officials said.
Leaving Patna each Saturday at 2:00 pm, the Patna-Goa train would take 42 hours to reach its destination. On its return, the train would leave Vasco da Gama railway station each Wednesday at 7:10 pm reaching Patna at 12:40 pm on Friday.
The fare for the sleeper class has been set at Rs. 555 while the AC III and AC II rate has been set at Rs. 1,506 and Rs. 2,067, officials said.
The train will stop at Ara, Buxar, Mughalsarai, Itarasi, Kalyan, Panvel, and Ratnagiri before arriving at Vasco da Gama.
The Railway Minister earlier inaugurated the construction of the so-called mega railway bridge over the Ganges at Digha expected to be completed by 2011.
Courtesy: patnadaily
