New Delhi: For the convenience of the train passengers and to clear extra rush during Diwali and Chhath Puja Festivals, the Indian Railways is running 7,000 extra special trains to handle the huge rush of passengers during the festive season. Railways to run 7,000 Chhath-Diwali special trains this year to facilitate 2 lakh extra passengers daily, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.
According to railway officials, 4,500 special trains were run during Diwali and Chhath Puja last year to cater to the festive rush. Considering the increase in passengers’ footfall, the ministry has decided to enhance the services this year, the officials said.
To clear the extra rush of passengers during the festive season, the Northern Railway (NR) has decided to run several trains as a lot of passengers travel to the eastern parts of the country during this period. In a press statement, the NR said that it will operate around 3,050 trips of special trains to help people reach their respective destinations for Diwali, Chhath Punaj and other events.
Some of the Festival Special trains include:
- Train no. 04680/04679 Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra – Kamakhya – Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Festival Special Express Train
- Train No. 04608/04607 Jammu Tawi – Durgapur- Jammu Tawi Special Express Train
- Train no. 04662/04661 Amritsar Jn. – Saharsa – Amritsar Jn. Festival Special Express Train
- Train no. 04520/04519 Ambala Cant Jn – Darbhanga – Amritsar Festival Festival Special Express Train’
In order to accommodate the extra rush during Diwali and Chhath Puja, Railways have decided to run semi high speed Vande Bharat and Tejas festival special trains which are as follows:
- 02252/02251 New Delhi – Patna– New Delhi – Reserved Vande Bharat Special Express train
- 02270/02269 Lucknow – Chharpra – Lucknow Reserved Vande Bharat Special Express train
- 02248 New Delhi – Patna Tejas Superfast Festival Special
The Northern Railway has assured of having made elaborate arrangements to ensure a smooth and comfortable journey for passengers during the festive season. “The Northern Railway in association with other zonal railways is operating 3,144 Festival special trains during the festival season from 01.10.2024 to 30.11.2024. Northern Railway has made provision to run unreserved special trains to clear extra rush in case of need on a real time basis. A total of 59 extra coaches are being added to various trains, making 2996 trips and accommodating over 2.25 lakh passengers during the festive period,” it said in its release.
The zonal railways have set up a large number of counters for food/snacks/meals at platforms. The officials are keeping a close watch on the sellers that adequate ‘Janta Khana’ is made available at platforms.
“To ensure the smooth functioning of operations, Northern Railway has directed station authorities to avoid last-minute platform changes. Dedicated platforms for festival special trains are being allotted,” the NR release stated.
The Northern Railway informed that out of the total festival special trains operated by Indian Railways in 2023, NR had run 1,082 trips of special trains. It said 3,050 train trips shall be operated, which is an increase of 181 per cent.
