Maha Kumbh 2025: Amid preparations for the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw today (December 8) said that the Indian Railways would run about 13,000 trains, including 3,000 special ones, for the convenience of devotees.
Notably, the Maha Kumbh will commence on January 13 on the occasion of Paush Purnima and conclude on February 26 on Mahashivratri.
Ashwini Vaishnaw inspects Railways' preparations for Maha Kumbh
The Union minister, who reached Prayagraj by train from Varanasi to review the Railways' preparations for the mega event, expects about 1.5 to 2 crore passengers to reach the city by train during the mela. He also inspected the newly constructed Ganga Rail Bridge in the Prayagraj district of Uttar Pradesh.
He also reviewed the redevelopment work at the railway station, which includes the construction of 12 new foot overbridges and 23 permanent holding areas. For the upcoming Maha Kumbh, mobile ticketing will be introduced, and QR codes will be installed to enable passengers to download tickets directly through an app.
After inspecting several stations under the Northeast Railway, Northern Railway and the North Central Railway in Prayagraj, the minister told reporters, "I also inspected the new bridge built over the Ganga, which will soon be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A new bridge has been built over the Ganga here after 100 years."
Maha Kumbh special trains to run from 50 cities
During the world’s largest religious festival, Maha Kumbh special trains will come to Prayagraj from 50 cities across the country. In Maha Kumbh, 20 lakh passengers are expected to reach Prayagraj by train every day. During this time, nine stations have been selected to control the crowd, which will be directly connected to Triveni Sangam.
The biggest challenge for the railways in Maha Kumbh will be to manage security. A control room has been set up at every station that will send live feeds to the master control room at the Prayagraj station.
To manage the expected crowd of about 20 lakhs visiting the railway stations daily, 1,313 CCTV cameras have been installed to monitor the areas. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) jawans will keep a vigilant eye on everyone entering the stations. Additionally, main intersections around the stations are also being monitored by CCTV cameras. These control rooms will be directly linked to the district control room for enhanced security and coordination.
Work is going on at 9 stations
In addition to Prayagraj Junction, eight other small and big railway stations in the area have undergone redevelopment. New foot overbridges have been constructed at these stations, which have also been freshly painted. Parking facilities around the stations have been expanded, and permanent holding areas have been established to accommodate passengers more effectively.
The minister said work at the Prayagraj station was done using the experience gained during the Ram temple consecration programme in Ayodhya and the Rath Yatra in Puri.
13,000 trains for Maha Kumbh
Vaishnaw said that the Indian Railways spent more than Rs 5,000 crore on preparations for the Maha Kumbh in the past two years.
Vaishnav said, "For the last two and a half years, preparations for Mahakumbh 2025 have been underway under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP CM Yogi Adityanath. An investment of Rs 5,000 crore has been made in related works during this period. Regular reviews of the preparations have been conducted over the last two and a half years. A total of 3,000 special trains will be operated to accommodate the devotees, along with around 10,000 regular trains. In total, 13,000 trains have been arranged for Mahakumbh 2025."
(Inputs from Anamika Gaur)
Also Read: Mahakumbh 2025: Prayagraj gears up for grand religious gathering of 400 million devotees
