By Sidhima Choudhary
Indian Railways has set its gear and is ready for the Mahakumbh 2025 with the deployment of 3000 special trains, 554 ticketing counters, and 1176 CCTV cameras all over the Prayagraj Railway Station. The plan focuses on passengers’ accessibility, convenience, and hygiene with the motive of making the world’s largest religious gathering successful.
The current Railway system intends to operate 13000 trains with 10000 being the normal trains and the remaining 3000 the special trains for more convenient facilities during Mahakumbh. The trains have been segregated into various sectors.
With a 6% increase in the railway budget, the railways have enhanced their infrastructure with an investment of Rs 5,000 crore specifically for the Kumbh Mela. This infrastructural development has been complemented by the introduction of a new service catering to short-distance travel. This year, a total of 1,869 short-distance trains, 559 ring trains, and 706 long-distance trains have been deployed to ensure seamless connectivity.
The Western Railways which covers the entire Gujarat, Mumbai, parts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh has introduced 98 special trains solely focusing on the convenience of the passenger with Railway Protection (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) assigned to it.
The Northern Railways plans to operate around 300 trains with 80 special trains with North Eastern Railways running from Jaynagar to Jhusi. It will travel four times from the Jaynagar, Madhubani District of Bihar, till March 1 with several stops in significant stations.
This special plan also covers IRCTC’s medical assistance plan which will include a temporary ‘tent city’ in Prayagraj to ensure proper accommodation of the devotees. It will also provide medical booths and small hospitals with trained medical personnel available round the clock in the major stations, addressing health concerns.
Additionally, a 12-language announcement system has also been implemented in Prayagraj Railway Station with a manual providing information about the trains, timings, booking details and other essential information to the devotees in 22 languages and English.