look news india
Indian Railways has announced a big relief for crores of migrants and passengers planning to return home during the festive season. In view of the problem of full seats and long waiting lists in regular trains during Dussehra, Diwali and the great festival of folk faith, Chhath Puja, Railways has decided to operate festive special trains on a large scale. Under this special campaign, a total of 552 trips will be organized on various busiest routes, which will provide a direct opportunity to lakhs of passengers to get confirmed seats.
This announcement is no less than a boon for the working people living in industrial cities from North India to South and West India. Especially on trains going to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, there is heavy pressure every year. In order to reduce this pressure and manage crowding at stations, Railway Board has given strict instructions to major zones to prepare additional rakes and special timetable.
The number of passengers going to Purvanchal and Bihar from the National Capital Region (NCR) is highest. Keeping this in mind, direct connectivity to Delhi, New Delhi and Anand Vihar Terminal has been ensured:
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Anand Vihar Terminal – Ayodhya Cantt Special (04214/04213): For the devotees going to Ayodhya and the travelers of Purvanchal, this train will leave from Anand Vihar at 9:00 am and reach Ayodhya Cantt at 10:00 pm on the same day. On its return journey, it will depart at 6:20 pm and reach Anand Vihar at 6:10 am the next day. A total of 36 rounds have been scheduled.
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Delhi – Varanasi Junction Special (04210/04209): This train will operate three days a week with 50 trips between Varanasi and Delhi. This will include AC 2-tier, AC 3-tier, sleeper and general coaches.
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Anand Vihar – Patna, Muzaffarpur and Jogbani Special: Special trains are being run for Seemanchal and Mithilanchal regions of Bihar with additional trips, which will directly benefit the passengers of Darbhanga, Samastipur and Barauni routes.
Not only Delhi, but also direct trains from other major metros of the country to UP and Bihar are being launched:
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Mumbai (CSMT) – Gorakhpur Special (01079/01080): This train will make 64 trips for North Indian migrants living in Mumbai. This train will reach Gorakhpur via Thane, Kalyan, Nashik, Bhusaval, Bhopal, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Gonda and Basti.
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Kanpur Central – SMVT Bengaluru Special (04131/04132): This train will run via Prayagraj, Satna, Nagpur and Vijayawada, increasing connectivity between IT hub Bengaluru and North India.
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Chandigarh and Firozpur – Patna Special (04512/04511 and 04616/04615): A total of 34 trips will be made from Chandigarh and Firozpur to Patna via Ambala, Saharanpur, Moradabad, Bareilly, Varanasi and Buxar for workers and students working in Punjab and Haryana.
Railways has started booking of all these special trains on the official website of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), Rail Connect mobile app and computerized PRS counters located at railway stations.
Passengers are advised to select ‘Vikalp Scheme’ while booking tickets. If there is waiting in the main train, then under this scheme the chances of getting a confirmed seat in another special train running on the same route increases without any extra charges. Additionally, emergency tickets can also be secured through the Tatkal quota opening at 10:00 am (AC class) and 11:00 am (non-AC class) a day before the journey.
To prevent chaos at railway stations during festivals, a special crowd management plan has been implemented at major stations like Lucknow Charbagh, Lucknow Junction, Kanpur Central, Gorakhpur, Varanasi Cantt, Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction and Patna Junction.
Additional personnel of Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) have been deployed. Holding areas and additional ticket counters have been created on the platforms to accommodate passengers in queues in general coaches. Along with this, the helpdesk has been kept active 24 hours for pure drinking water, first aid and clear announcement of arrival and departure of trains.