LUCKNOW: In a giant leap for rail connectivity in Lucknow, the Aishbagh railway station has been upgraded from a terminal to a junction. Now 43 major trains originate/terminate or halt at Aishbagh Junction which has five platforms. The transformation has led to 25% surge in passenger footfall — from 400 passengers to 10,000 passengers daily — at Aishbagh station . It has also helped to decongest Charbagh railway station and Lucknow Junction. But despite the upgradation, passengers are not happy. Reason: basic passenger amenities and services are dismal at the new junction.A junction with 10,000 footfall should have following facilities: at least two waiting halls, five ticket booking counters, 10 washrooms, five water kiosks, adequate lighting, benches, cloak room, canopies, coach indication display and ticket vending machine. But most of these are missing at Aishbagh junction. When TOI visited the station, it found a small waiting hall and only two ticket booking counters. New booking counters have not started yet. There are not enough washrooms on platforms and only one drinking water kiosk on platform 4.Passengers complain that lighting is poor and there is no canopy on any platform to protect passengers in heat or rains. Coach indication displays are missing while the only ticket vending machine is dysfunctional.“Besides amenities, even transport is not easily available till Aishbagh station. There are not enough coolies at the junction. I had to board Okha-Gorakhpur Express but faced problem in locating my coach because the platform did not have coach indication display system,” said Kunal Kapoor, a resident of Vishal Khand in Gomtinagar.“My train, Bihar Sampark Kranti Express, arrived at platform 4. There was no source of light at the platform. My train was one hour late and I waited at the platform with just phone torch,” said Tarun Bharadwaj, a resident of Thakurganj.

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