Chhath Puja 2022: Indian Railways announces over 250 special trains | DETAILS

Chhath Puja 2022: Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the Centre has started over 250 special trains for the upcoming Chhath Puja festival.

"For Chhath Puja, we have started over 250 trains. Around 1.4 lakhs berths have been made available and we will do whatever is necessary for the people," Ashwini Vaishnaw said.

Notably, to manage the extra rush of passengers in the ongoing festive season, Indian Railways is running 2,561 trips of 211 special trains (in pairs) till Chhath Puja this year.

He further extended his greetings for the Chhath Puja.

"I wish everyone a very happy and prosperous Chhath Puja," the Union Minister added.

Additional arrangements during Chhath festival:

Northern Railway is running 84 special trains during festive time having 846 trips to ensure smooth and comfortable travel. 56 trains augmented by additional 165 coaches will make 4,700 extra trips and generate extra 3.5 Lakh berths/ seats

 
Indian Railway is running overall 2,200 'Festival Special trains' to cater the passengers. 
 
A 'Special Festival' Rajdhani Express has been planned between New Delhi-Patna. 18 trips of Gati-Shakti premium train have been planned. On the basis of waitlist position, 29 Gati-Shakti coaches have been replaced by AC and sleeper coaches in 15 festival special trains. 

The stock has been arranged for an unannounced special from Delhi area. 

846 trips of these 84 festival special trains have been planned to connect major destinations across the country on railway sectors like Delhi /New Delhi/ Anand ViharTerminal/ Hazrat Nizamiddin/Delhi Sarai Rohilla to Patna, Danapur, Chhapra, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, Saharsa, Darbhanga, Samastipur, Gaya, Jaynagar, Jogbani, Barauni, Katihar, Kolkata, Howrah, Sealdah, MaldaTown, Shalimar, Barhani, Kamakhya, Varanasi, Lucknow, Kanpur, Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, Ballia, Azamgarh, Ambala, Ferozpur, Chandigarh, Amritsar, JammuTawi, Udhampur, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra, Mumbai, Ahmedabad Gwalior, Indore, Kota, Vadodara, Dadar, Okha, Dehradun, Haridwar, Saharanpur, Moradabad and  Bhagat ki Kothi etc.
 
Crowd controlling measures by forming a queue at the terminus stations with the supervision of RPF staff for orderly entry of passengers in unreserved coaches is being ensured. Additional RPF personnel have been deployed in major stations to ensure security of passengers.

Adequate lighting arrangements have been made at stations for the convenience of passengers. Senior officers are being deployed on emergency Dduty at major stations to ensure smooth running of trains. Staff are deployed in various sections to attend any disruption of train service on priority. Measures have been taken for frequent and timely announcement of arrival/departure of trains with platform numbers.

“May I Help You” booths are kept operational at important stations where RPF Personnel and TTEs are deputed for proper assistance and guidance of the passengers. Medical Teams are available at major stations on call. Ambulance with a paramedical team will also be available. All efforts are being done to ensure no change of platform at the last moment.

A watch on any malpractices- like cornering of seats, over charging and touting activity etc., is being strictly monitored by the Security and Vigilance Department staff. 

Instructions for maintaining cleanliness at waiting halls, retiring rooms, passenger amenity areas in particular, and at stations in general have also been given by the Headquarter office.

Know more about Chhath puja:

People worship the Sun God during the festival, which will be celebrated between October 28-31 this year.

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Earlier this month, the Ministry of Railways released an official statement, stating that the Indian Railways will be running additional 32 special services to ensure smooth and comfortable travel for passengers during this festive season.

Special Trains have been planned to connect major destinations across the country on railway routes, like Darbhanga, Azamgarh, Saharsa, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, Firozpur, Patna, Katihar and Amritsar etc. 

Earlier, the Ministry statement also read that "May I Help You" booths are kept operational at important stations where RPF Personnel and TTEs are deputed for proper assistance and guidance of the passengers. 

Medical Teams are available at major stations on call. Ambulance with the paramedical team is also available.Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar appealed to the Centre earlier on Tuesday to provide special trains for Chhath Puja for people wishing to go to their native places for the festival.

Bihar appealed to the ministry of railways to provide special trains for Chhath Puja.

The chief secretary of Bihar on the instructions of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar spoke to the senior officials of the Ministry of Railways over the phone to increase the number of special trains in view of Chhath Mahaparv," said an official press release in Hindi.

"Chhath Mahaparv is the most important festival of Bihar. There is a large number of Biharis living outside Bihar who returns to the state to attend the Mahaparv," the Chief Secretary said.

A watch on any malpractices - like cornering of seats, over-charging and touting activity etc. is being done and strictly monitored. Crowd controlling measures by forming queues at the terminus stations under the supervision of RPF staff for orderly entry of passengers in unreserved coaches is being ensured, the Railways Ministry had said earlier.

Chhath Puja is one of the most auspicious festivals in Bihar, Jharkhand and Eastern Uttar Pradesh. The four-day-long festival starts with the 'Nahai Khai' ritual and ends with 'Usha Arghya' (prayers to the rising sun).

People worship the Sun God during the festival, which will be celebrated between October 28-31 this year.The festival is dedicated to Surya Bhagwan (Sun God), which people believe sustains life on Earth. 

(With ANI inputs)

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