Indian Railways has deployed its maximum number of festive special trains on Dhanteras, the day its own analysis identifies as the peak of the Diwali-season rush, Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in New Delhi on Friday, November 6. Around 18,000 special trains have been arranged for the festive season covering Durga Puja, Diwali and Chhath, up from about 12,000 last year.

Source: IANS

Vaishnaw said a detailed study of 10 years of passenger data, excluding the Covid period, was used to decide the number and timings of the special trains. The analysis found that most passengers travel on Dhanteras and three days before Chhath Puja, and that on peak days the rush begins after 5 p.m., when factory and office workers leave for their villages, and continues through the night.

War rooms are operating round the clock at the Railway Board, the Northern Railway zone, divisional offices and railway stations, the minister said, with a four-tier war-room arrangement also in place in Mumbai and other locations. Around six train rakes have been kept on standby at the Shakur Basti depot in Delhi to be deployed in case of an urgent surge.

Reviewing preparations at New Delhi Railway Station, Vaishnaw said a dedicated holding area has been set up for reserved passengers and more than 700 AI-enabled cameras are monitoring passenger movement to manage crowds. About two crore people are expected to travel by rail from the Delhi region during the festive season, according to the reports.

Source: NewKerala

A day earlier in Jaipur, the minister had said large holding areas have also been established at Anand Vihar Terminal in Delhi and at Udhna in Surat, each able to hold around 20,000 people at New Delhi and Udhna, with ticketing counters moved into the holding areas so passengers do not have to push through crowds. He also said work is under way at 1,300 stations under redevelopment, with about 400 already completed.

Source: ANI

The festive deployment is the Railways' largest seasonal operation of the year, aimed at getting migrant workers and families home for Diwali on November 8 and for Chhath Puja, which follows later in the festival calendar.