KARACHI: The first of three Special Eid Trains arranged for travellers visiting relatives in other cities during the Eid holidays left Karachi for Peshawar from the Cantonment Railway Station here at 11am on Sunday.

Carrying some 800 passengers in 10 carriages, the train was overall economy class. Leaving from Karachi it would make stops at various cities such as Hyderabad, Tando Adam, Nawabshah, Rohri, Sadiqabad, Rahim Yar Khan, Sialkot, Khanpur, Bahawalpur, Lodhran, Multan, Khanewal, Sahiwal, Kot Lakhpat, Lahore, Gujran­wala, Gujrat, Rawal­pindi, Taxila and Attock City while avoiding small towns before reaching its last stop, Peshawar.

The passengers gathering their luggage pieces while boarding the train on platform No 1 had different tickets in hand of their various destinations. None seemed too pleased. “Are the Railway Department and Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique helping us or have they only arranged these special trains to mint money?” said Syed Nasir Ali, who was going to Rawalpindi with his family.

In his hand he held tickets, which were Rs500 costlier than the usual fare charged for regular train tickets. “I paid Rs1,805 for one berth and seat. For children, I had to cough up Rs955 each. For regular trains I pay 500 less. There is also no concession, such as student concession being offered,” he said.

“This is the only time of the year when we get the chance to visit our relatives in another city and the railways take advantage of this,” said Naqash Tafseer, a student traveling to Lahore.

Another passenger, Yasmin Zareef, said that her husband had to pay the full adult fare of Rs1,525 for their five-year-old son Abdul Wahab. “It’s going to be our first Eid after my mother-in-law’s passing. My father-in-law is unwell and looking forward to seeing the children so we are taking them to Lahore. Otherwise, the expensive train tickets forced us to think again before leaving for this short Eid holiday,” she said.

“When I get the time, I will check if my son is growing horns on his head or something for them to charge so much for a little one’s ticket,” she tried making a joke of the ‘special’ treatment given to them.

Most passengers with families were putting on brave smiles, determined not to let the Railway’s overcharging them ruin their holiday spirit.

According to data shared by Pakistan Railways, the first Special Eid Train earned the department Rs1,005,290 as it was filled to capacity with all 800 tickets sold out.

The second such Special Eid Train for Faisalabad/Malakwal also left Karachi on Sunday evening at 8.30pm from the City Railway Station following which it made a brief stop at the Cantt and Landhi stations before being off on its way. The third and last Special Eid Train will be leaving for Lahore at 11am on Monday from the Cantt station.

About the grievance of travellers as regards being overcharged on tickets, Karachi railways DCO Nasir Nazeer said there were two types of trains — passenger trains and mail and express trains — and the Special Eid Trains were mail and express trains. “The difference between the two kinds of trains is that the passenger trains make too many stops causing them to slow down and the mail and express trains make less stops on way to their final destinations while cutting down on travel time. The Eid train passengers have been charged mail and express train fares,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2016