Looking forward to head for a vacation this summer? Think again. With train and airlines tickets overbooked,there is little one can do except wait. Those having urgent assignments explore expensive options like taxis,as even for a seat in a deluxe bus the wait may be as long as three days. Others simply get overawed by the rush and cancel their trip. Despite special holiday trains and extra coaches being attached to the existing trains by the Ambala Division,the waiting list in train reservations is touching hundreds. At present,not a single confirmed train ticket is available. There is no seat available on the Paschim Express (2925/2926),running between Chandigarh and Bandra,for the entire month of June. In case of other trains,the average waiting list touches 150. Travellers wishing to board the Unchahar Express (4217/4218),running between Chandigarh and Allahabad,and the Sadhbhavna Express (2231/2232),running between Chandigarh and Lucknow,have to wait - the waiting lists of these trains is over 150 each. The situation with the two pairs of Kalka-New Delhi Shatabdi is as bad - waiting list touches over 100. "On daily basis extra coaches are added to the trains depending on the waiting list. Around three extra coaches are attached to Sadhbhavna Express (2232) and Unchahar Express (4518). The process will continue till the long waiting lists are cleared," Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Karan Singh said. "With the onset of summer vacations,the waiting lists have increased manifold. There are no seats in Shatabdis for this entire week," Station Superintendent R K Datta said. Introduction of special trains by the Ambala Division has also not helped. Special summer trains like Chandigarh-Dehradun AC (0411/0412),started from April 1 till June 30,Saharanpur-Ludhiana fast passenger train,started from June 15 till June 30,Chandigarh-Allahabad (0483/0484),started from May 29 till June 28,and three toy trains between Kalka and Shimla,have not made the situation any better. Airlines no betterKingfisher Airlines flight,the only air-connectivity from Chandigarh to Jammu and Srinagar,is booked till July 15. The booking staff says the demand by pilgrims going to Vaishno Devi and Amarnath is the cause. But in case of other destinations too the situation is same. Flights to Delhi and Mumbai are flying with 100 per cent occupancy. Buses slightly betterA seat can be found on the Chandigarh-Delhi Volvo bus run by Haryana Roadways,but only three days after the booking. "No seats are available on Volvo for the next three days. The waiting in case of trains is the same,leaving me to book a taxi for Delhi. There is a huge difference in charges,but I am left with no other option," Ankur Goyal,a city-based businessman,said. The long wait*Paschim Express: no ticket available till June 30*Unchahar Express: waiting list touches over 150*Kalka-New Delhi Shatabdi: waiting list of more than 100*Kerala Sampark Kranti: waiting of over 50
