Railways expect rush for Chhath Puja after sunrise on November 8
New Delhi:
The Railway Board said on Wednesday that it has arranged more than 500 special trains to deal with the rush of homebound passengers starting November 8 with the end of Chhath Puja.
“Special trains have been announced to accommodate returning passengers with plans for additional trains to meet local demand from Samastipur, Danapur Division and other divisions as per requirement,” the board said in a press statement.
He said that Chhath Puja rush will start after sunrise on November 8 and 164 special trains have been arranged to accommodate the high passenger pressure on that day.
“Following this, Indian Railways has planned 160 special trains for November 9, 161 for November 10 and 155 special trains for November 11, ensuring adequate capacity to handle the expected surge in passengers during the festive period,” it added.
According to the Railway Board, on November 4, Indian Railways carried a record number of passengers, carrying 120.72 lakh people in a single day.
“This included 19.43 million reserved passengers and 101.29 million unreserved non-suburban passengers – a number greater than the combined population of Australia and New Zealand. On the same day, suburban traffic reached a record 18 million passengers, making it the highest in a single day. Passenger of the Year number,” the board said.
It claims to have achieved a remarkable feat by transporting 65 lakh passengers in 4,521 special trains in the last 36 days.
“These additional services have played an important role in facilitating smooth travel during the ongoing Durga Puja, Diwali and Chhath Puja,” it said.
According to the board, to meet the increased travel demand during the festive period from October 1 to November 30, Indian Railways has announced a total of 7,724 special trains, an increase of 73 percent compared to last year’s 4,429.
“This substantial expansion is aimed at ensuring uninterrupted travel during the peak festive season. Indian Railways has run an average of 175 special trains per day for the past four days to transport passengers to their destinations for Chhath Puja,” the board said.
(Other than the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)