South Eastern Railway will operate a Chhath special train for two round trips between Tatanagar and Chhapra to accommodate the seasonal surge in passengers travelling towards Bihar, with services scheduled in November and coaches for general, sleeper and AC 2-tier travellers.
Train 08185 will leave Tatanagar railway station at 6:10pm on Thursday and again on November 17, reaching Chhapra at 10:30am the following day, according to the railway zone. The service will run through key stations across Jharkhand and Bihar, including Purulia, Bokaro Steel City, Chandrapura, Dhanbad, Chittaranjan, Madhupur, Jasidih, Jhajha, Kiul, Barauni, Shahpur Patori, Hajipur and Sonpur.
The return service, numbered 08186, will depart from Chhapra at 12:40pm on November 13 and November 18. It is scheduled to reach Tatanagar at 4am the next day.
The 18-coach train will include general, sleeper and AC 2-tier coaches. The mix is intended to serve passengers with different travel requirements during the Chhath period, when movement between industrial and urban centres in Jharkhand and towns and cities in Bihar increases sharply.
The service reflects the railways’ use of temporary capacity to manage demand concentrated around a major festival. Rather than adding a permanent route, the railway is placing a limited-period service along an existing inter-state corridor with halts at important junctions and passenger stations, including Dhanbad, Kiul, Barauni, Hajipur and Sonpur.
Aditya Choudhary, spokesperson for the Chakradharpur division, said the special train had been introduced to ease passenger loads on regular services and ensure a “smooth and hassle-free journey” during the festive season. The statement did not provide details of ticket availability, fares or any additional operational arrangements at the stations.
For passengers, the two outbound and two return trips offer an additional rail option during a period when regular services face increased demand. The scheduled halts also connect Tatanagar with several rail-linked urban and industrial centres before the train reaches Chhapra. The next operational milestone is the departure of the first service from Tatanagar at 6:10pm on Thursday.
