Central Railway runs 705 festival trains, ferries over 1 mn passengers

Of the 1,998 trains, the highest number of special services are scheduled from Pune, followed by Mumbai, said General Manager Vijay Kumar

The Central Railway has so far operated 705 special trains for Diwali and Chhath, carrying more than 10.6 lakh passengers, a senior official said on Tuesday.

Speaking to the media, Central Railway General Manager Vijay Kumar said that the CR plans to operate as many as 1,998 Diwali and Chhath special trains out of the 12,011 special trains scheduled by zonal railways across the country between September 19 and November 30.

Of the 1,998 trains, the highest number of special services are scheduled from Pune, followed by Mumbai, he said.

"The festival special trains are expected to facilitate travel for more than 30 lakh passengers, offering convenient options to states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh," Kumar added. According to Central Railway, over 600 special trains have been notified from Mumbai alone.

"More than 100 regular trains and 8 to 10 special trains are being operated from Mumbai daily, the official said.

On Tuesday and the following three days, 77 trains will be run, with 24 originating from the Mumbai division, he added.

Kumar said that they had operated three special trains departed from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) to Danapur, Muzaffarpur, and Gorakhpur by Tuesday afternoon, with good passenger response.

"These trains are in addition to the 22 Bihar-bound trains running daily," Kumar said.

To manage the festive rush, holding areas for passengers have been set up and expanded at LTT, CSMT, Pune, and other key stations.

"The holding area capacity at LTT is currently around 8,000, and we plan to increase it to 10,000 within the next few hours," he said.

Additional personnel from the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) have been deployed at CSMT, LTT, Dadar, and Kalyan stations. The RPF will be on round-the-clock duty for the next four days, he added.

To ensure smooth boarding and crowd management, platforms are being assigned in advance without any last-minute changes, he said.

"We are also avoiding assigning two crowded trains to island platforms to maintain smooth passenger movement," Kumar said.