Central Railway will operate 1,702 special trains for Diwali and Chhath Puja to ease festive travel. Extra counters, holding areas, and mobile ticketing services are set up, while FIRs are filed against misleading social media posts about congestion
People wait for trains to reach their hometowns ahead of Diwali festival at Patna junction. Pic/PTI
The Central Railway will operate 1,702 special trains across India for the Diwali and Chhath Puja festivals in an effort to help passengers travel to their destinations and join their families on the festival. Stations across India are currently facing major issues due to the overcrowding on the occasion of Diwali.
CPRO, Central Railway, Swapnil Nila said while speaking to the media on Saturday that, "The Central Railway is preparing for the upcoming Chhath and Diwali festivals by operating 1,702 special trains to help passengers travel to their destinations to celebrate with their families... These trains will start from stations such as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Pune, Kolhapur, and Nagpur... Over 800 of these trains will serve routes to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, and the northeastern states... Trains will connect various other locations within the country," as cited by news agency ANI.
The railway official also added that extra counters have been set up at major stations for the convenience and safety of the passengers to ensure that no unfortunate incident takes place.
He further added, "To ensure passenger comfort and safety, holding areas with a capacity of over 3,000 passengers each have been established at major stations, equipped with amenities such as food, water, toilets, and fans... Mobile UTS services are available for ticket booking, and additional ticket counters have been opened to reduce waiting time..."
Earlier on Saturday, the Indian Railways had also decided to take strict action against social media handles sharing 'misleading' videos related to railway operations and misguiding people about the congestion and panic at railway stations.
Railways, while issuing the statement, also emphasised that, “During this festive season, some social media handles have been circulating old or misleading videos, creating confusion among passengers,” as cited by news agency ANI.
The railway further highlighted that over 20 such social media handles have been identified, and the process of filing FIRs has been initiated. Also, a 24x7 social media monitoring mechanism has been put in place to keep a close watch on such antisocial elements.
Moreover, the railway has also appealed that all social media users should refrain from sharing videos of crowds or other incidents at stations without verifying the facts.
Passengers are urged to rely only on official Railway notifications and verified social media handles of the Ministry of Railways on X, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for authentic information.
(With inputs from ANI)
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