In a bid to accommodate a higher number of passengers and facilitate travel to various destinations, the Railway Ministry has announced a substantial increase in train trips for the upcoming summer season. Compared to last year, there will be a significant surge of 43 per cent in the number of train trips operated by the ministry.
“To ensure the convenience of passengers and manage the anticipated surge in travel demand during summers, the Indian Railways is operating a record-breaking 9, 111 trips during the summer season,” a press statement from the Railway Ministry said. “This marks a substantial rise compared to the summer of 2023, where a total of 6,369 trips were offered. This translates to an increase of 2742 trips, demonstrating the Indian Railways' commitment to meeting passenger demands effectively,” it added.
Additional trains to connect key destinations
According to the ministry, the additional trains have been meticulously planned to connect key destinations across the country, ensuring seamless travel on major railway routes. Out of these 9,111 train trips, the Western Railway will operate the highest number -- 1,878 -- followed by the North Western Railway with 1,623 trips. Other Railway zones, which will run a significant number of trips are the South Central Railway (1,012 trips) and the East Central Railway (1,003).
“All zonal railways spread across India have geared up to operate these additional trips catering to the summer travel rush from states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi,” the Railway Ministry said.
How Railways take a call to increase train trips?
Before taking a call to increase train trips, the ministry takes inputs from all communication channels 24x 7 like media reports, social media platforms, Railway Integrated helpline number 139, apart from details of waitlist passengers in the PRS system, to assess the demand of trains on a particular route. “Based on this requirement, the number of trains and number of trips are augmented. Neither the number of trains nor the number of trips run by additional trains are static for the entire season,” the ministry said.
The ministry has also instructed Zonal Railways “to ensure availability of drinking water at Railway stations” during the summer season. “Elaborate crowd control arrangements are made at all major and important railway stations. Senior officers are stationed at these stations to monitor all the activities to regulate the crowd in a systematic manner,” the ministry said.
Crowds to be regulated at foot-over bridges
It should be noted here that the ministry has also issued instructions to deploy Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF) at foot-over bridges to regulate crowds smoothly in order to avoid stampede-like situations during the heavy rush period.
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