Patna: Education minister Mithilesh Tiwari on Wednesday urged Union minister of state for railways V Somanna to revise the schedule of the Patna-Thawe Intercity and reduce its travel time, citing inconvenience to passengers.During a meeting at Rail Bhavan in New Delhi, Tiwari requested that the train depart from Patna Junction at 5am and from Thawe Junction at 7pm. At present, the train leaves Patna at 12.10pm and reaches Thawe at 7pm. On its return journey, it departs Thawe at 8.05pm and arrives in Patna at 3.20am. Tiwari said the existing schedule and long travel duration make the service inconvenient for commuters.He also sought new train services linking Gopalganj with Delhi and other major cities. Among his key demands was the introduction of a Vande Bharat train between Gorakhpur and Patna via Gopalganj and Mashrakh.The minister further requested a halt for the Tapti-Ganga Express at Sidhwalia station and sought the development of Baikunthpur and Sidhwalia stations under the Amrit Bharat scheme. He also urged the railway ministry to expedite construction of the road overbridge and the road underbridge at Dighwa Dubauli.Tiwari invited Somanna to inaugurate the newly constructed rake point at Sidhwalia railway station. Somanna assured him that the demands would be examined positively and said efforts would be made to address them at the earliest.
