Indian Railways has announced the operation of special trains from stations including Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra, Jammu Tawi, Amritsar, and Ludhiana to facilitate travelers during the Chhath Puja festival. The announcement was made by Ferozepur Division Chief Manager Payal on Monday, highlighting the organization’s commitment to ensuring passengers can return to their hometowns for the festivities.
Special Trains to Ease Chhath Puja Rush Across Key Stations
“Special trains will be operational from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra, Jammu Tawi, Amritsar, and Ludhiana in both reserved and unreserved categories. We have implemented measures to guarantee the safety and security of our passengers, including the establishment of special help desks at stations,” said Payal. She emphasized the railway’s efforts to ensure that all travelers can enjoy the festival with their families.
Earlier this week, Railway Board Chairman Satish Kumar inspected facilities and confirmed that 195 special trains would operate over 13 days from the Delhi area this year. “We are operating extra trains as part of our arrangements. Currently, 70 trains are running from Delhi, including 16 special trains and 4 unannounced services. Our goal is to provide better facilities to our passengers, and feedback has been positive so far,” Kumar stated.
In addition to the special trains, arrangements have been made at major railway stations across the country, including New Delhi, Anand Vihar, Ahmedabad, Surat, Baroda, Mumbai, Bandra, Vijayawada, Vishakhapatnam, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Bengaluru. “The special arrangements cater to the increased travel demand, particularly to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Yesterday, we ran more than 160 trains, and today we plan to run over 170 trains,” Kumar added.
To manage the crowd effectively, Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railways Protection Force (RPF) personnel have been deployed, with Rail Sewaks available to assist travelers. Additional coaches have been attached to the special trains, and hundreds of CCTV cameras have been installed at stations to monitor passenger movement.