The North Indian Railways has announced the operation of 34 special trains and the addition of extra coaches to existing trains for the convenience of passengers traveling home during major festivals like Dussehra, Diwali, and Chhath.
New Delhi: In view of the expected surge in passengers during festivals like Diwali and Chhath, the North Indian Railways has introduced 34 special trains starting from Wednesday. These special trains will operate from October 18 to December 11, providing a total of 377 extra trips. Out of these, 351 trips will cater to the eastern regions of the country, while the remaining 26 trips will serve the northern areas, as officially announced.
Shobhan Chaudhary, the General Manager of North Indian Railways, stated, “Apart from these 34 trains, we will also be adding extra coaches to 69 existing trains. In total, North Indian Railways will make available an additional 550,000 seats, responding to the increased demand during the festive season.”
“Provision Made Due to Increased Demand”
These special trains will connect major destinations across the country, including Delhi, New Delhi, Anand Vihar, Patna, Chapra, Jogbani, Saharsa, Kolkata, Mata Vaishno Devi Katra, Amritsar, Jaynagar, Katihar, Guwahati, Darbhanga, Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Barauni, Raxaul, Muzaffarpur, Gaya, Lucknow, Saharanpur, and Ambala. The North Indian Railways has advised prospective travelers to gather information about these special trains from its official social media handles and inquiry offices. Chaudhary mentioned that the provision for additional arrangements was made due to the anticipated higher demand.
“If necessary, more trains will be run,” he said. “I believe that the increased demand will be met. We will monitor the situation, and if it appears that more special trains are required, we will consider it. For now, I think this is sufficient. Besides operating special trains, we have decided to open special ticket counters to reduce long queues and activate all existing counters,” Chaudhary added. When asked about completing journeys on time during this festive season, Chaudhary assured that railway personnel would do their best to adhere to the specified arrival and departure times without delays due to other important trains.
“Special Trains Will Adhere to the Timetable”
The General Manager of North Indian Railways emphasized that these additional trains are just as important for them as any other trains, and he assured all travelers planning to use these special trains that they will adhere to their timetables. Provision for crowd management and queue control will also be implemented.
Moreover, on Wednesday, the North Indian Railways recommended that passengers traveling during the festive season should arrive at stations 15 to 20 minutes before the scheduled departure of their trains to avoid congestion and rush-related incidents.
“A Large Number of Security Personnel Will Be Deployed”
Shobhan Chaudhary mentioned that if people arrive at the station early, designated areas for waiting will be allocated to facilitate their waiting, which will help reduce crowding on platforms with limited space. He further noted that North Indian Railways has made arrangements for crowd management and queue control, including the deployment of a large number of security personnel at stations.
