Indian Railways to run 211 special trains to cater to festival rush

NEW DELHI: Indian Railways will run 211 special trains, with 2561 trips, till Chhath Puja to meet festival season rush this year, the Ministry of Railways said in a statement on Tuesday.

Special trains have been planned to connect destinations like Darbhanga, Azamgarh, Saharsa, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, Firozpur, Patna, Katihar, Amritsar, among others.

The ministry said that 179 pairs of special trains were notified earlier this month which will undertake 2,269 trips. These were planned to connect major destinations across the country on railway routes like Delhi- Patna, Delhi- Bhagalpur, Delhi-Muzaffarpur, Delhi-Saharsa among others, it said.

Additional Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel have also been deployed at major stations to ensure security of passengers. Officers have been engaged on Emergency Duty at major stations to ensure smooth running of trains.

“May I Help You” booths are kept open at major stations where RPF personnel and TTEs are assigned to provide proper assistance and guidance to passengers. On-call medical teams are available at major stations with an ambulance and a paramedic team.

“A watch on any malpractices – like cornering of seats, over-charging and touting activity etc. is being done and strictly monitored. Crowd controlling measures by forming queue at the terminus stations under the supervision of RPF staff for orderly entry of passengers in unreserved coaches is being ensured,” the ministry of railway said in a release.