Railways set out special trains to manage extra rush till Chhath Puja

Major destinations throughout the country would be connected by 179 pairs of special trains on rail routes including Delhi-Patna, Delhi-Bhagalpur, Delhi-Muzaffarpur, and Delhi-Saharsa

In order to manage the increased demand over the festive season, the Indian Railways has announced that they are operating special trains till Chhath Puja this year, reported Livemint. The 2022 festival season began on August 31 with Ganesh Chaturthi, and continued with Navratri and Durga Puja from 25 September till 5 October. By Chhath Puja, which is scheduled to take place on October 30, the festival season rush is expected to reduce. 

According to news agency ANI, the Ministry of Railways said in a tweet that the Indian Railways is running 2,269 trips of 179 pairs of special trains till Chhath Puja this year, to manage the extra rush of passengers in the ongoing festive season.

The ministry has said that major destinations throughout the nation will be connected by special trains on rail routes including Delhi-Patna, Delhi-Bhagalpur, Delhi-Muzaffarpur, and Delhi-Saharsa, among others. The 179 special services have been announced in pairs to ensure that customers have a smooth and enjoyable journey throughout this holiday season.

According to the official statement, Central Railway (CR) has notified 100 trips of seven pairs of special trains, East Central Railway (ECR) has notified 128 trips of 9 pairs of special trains, Eastern Coastal Railway (ECoR) has notified 94 trips of 6 pairs of special trains, Eastern Railway (ER) has notified 108 trips of 14 pairs of special trains, Northern Railway (NE) has notified 368 trips of 35 pairs of special trains, North Central Railway (NCR) has notified 223 trips of 8 pairs of special trains.

Further, North Eastern Railway (NER) has notified 34 trips of 2 pair special trains, North Frontier Railway (NFR) has notified 64 trips of 4 pair special trains, North Western Railway (NWR) has notified 134 trips of 5 pair special trains, Southern Railway (SR) has notified 56 trips of 22 pair special trains, South Eastern Railway (SER) has notified 14 trips of 2 pair special trains, South Central Railway (SCR) has notified 191 trips of 19 pair special trains, South Western Railway (SWR) has notified 433 trips of 22 special trains, West Central Railway (WCR) has notified 16 trips of 6 pair special trains and Western Railway (WR) has notified 306 trips of 18 pair special trains.

The ministry has also deployed other measures of crowd management and passenger security during the festive season, which include increased security at major stations, keeping 'May I Help You' booths operational at important stations, positioning the medical team at major stations that are available on call, ensuring cleanliness, and keeping a watch on malpractices like overcharging, cornering of seats.