992 special trains will be run during Kumbh Mela
The Railway Ministry is working towards running a large number of special trains for the Kumbh Mela. A senior railway official said that 992 special trains will be operated during the Kumbh Mela. The Kumbh Mela will be held in Prayagraj in January next year.
Railway track doubling is being done around Prayagraj Division
According to officials, apart from running special trains, the ministry has set aside Rs 933 crore for the construction of various infrastructure and facilities for passengers. For the Kumbh Mela, the work of doubling the railway track at a cost of Rs 3,700 crore in Prayagraj division and adjoining areas is being done at a fast pace to ensure smooth movement of trains.
Railway Minister held review meeting
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav and Ministers of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu and V Somanna held meetings on Saturday to review the arrangements to deal with the huge crowd of devotees during the Kumbh Mela starting from January 12.
As 30 to 50 crore devotees are expected to attend the Kumbh Mela, the Railway Ministry will run special trains to Prayagraj from various cities in addition to 6,580 regular trains. An official said that based on past experience, we have decided to increase the number of special trains by 42 percent to 992.
On the other hand, the Northeast Frontier Railway will run 26 special trains in the next two months to ease the festive rush. These 13 pairs of special trains will run from October 1 to November 30 during the festivals of Durga Puja, Diwali and Chhath Puja and will provide convenience to additional passengers.