Vijayawada, Feb. 10
South Central Railway has so far operated over 140 special trains to carry devotees to the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh.
On February 9 alone, the Indian Railways’ record breaking 330 trains handled an influx of 12.5 pilgrims at the eight railway stations in the Prayagraj area.
SCR general manager Arun Kumar Jain said the railway network is running one train every four minutes to ensure smooth and efficient movement of pilgrims to the Kumbh in Prayagraj. The special trains are originating from multiple stations, including Secunderabad, Guntur, Vijayawada, Tirupati and other key locations across South Central Railway’s network.
Arun Kumar disclosed that Indian Railways had planned to operate over 13,000 trains during the Kumbh Mela period, including more than 3,100 special trains and 10,000 regular trains.
He underlined that SCR’s special trains have been running at an impressive 149 per cent occupancy rate, with advance reservations fully utilised.
The key destinations of these special trains include Gaya, Patna, Azamgarh, Banaras and Lucknow. The railways have implemented color-coded tickets and additional shelter areas to streamline boarding and deboarding of passengers.
The SCR GM emphasised that as of February 10, around 1.3 lakh passengers have already travelled on these special trains. The railway administration is closely monitoring the pilgrim rush from war rooms set up at Rail Bhavan in New Delhi, North Central Railway headquarters, and divisional headquarters in Prayagraj and Lucknow.