New Delhi: The railways is planning to consult with the Meteorological Department to get weather forecasts, especially fog days, before setting the schedule of trains for Mahakumbh Mela as the event will be held during the winter season, in January-February 2025.
The people are sceptical about smooth train movements if fog engulfs several northern parts of India as it happened in previous years following which several trains were cancelled or delayed. While North Central Railways has partially cancelled or reduced trips of several normal trains due to operation reasons in the upcoming fog season 2024-25, it is natural to raise doubts about running a large number of special trains on time during the same period.
A senior railway official, who is part of the preparation of Mahakumbh Mela, said if dense fog might take place during the event then no one could do anything about that situation.
Talking about the preparation to run trains during the Mahakumbh Mela, Shashikant Tripathi, Chief Public Relations Officer, North Central Railway, told ETV Bharat, “If dense fog engulfs the area during the event then railways have some technology to deal with the situation, but it is quite obvious that foggy weather would hit train speed movement due to low visibility.”
“It is seen in previous years, whether it is Magh Mela or Kumbh Mela, fog doesn’t have much effect on train services,” Tripathi said. Explaining future planning, CPRO Tripathi pointed out, “Safety of the passengers is railways prime objective. We always take the weather forecast to set the train schedule, especially during monsoon, rain, summer and winter days. We will consult with meteorologists to set train schedules during the mela in advance weekly to get real-time situations.”
A senior official said if dense fog covers the northern part of the country during the event then there is no option, but to face it as a natural situation, which would be a challenge to run special Mahakumbh Mela trains on time.
In the past years, it has been seen that during the winter season, several parts of the country face serious dense fog conditions, which lead to significant disruptions in train and flight services. Dense fog creates a low visibility situation that puts an impact on normal train operations and causes inconvenience for passengers across the country. Running a train at normal speed during dense fog is also risky for passengers as well as trains following which commuters had to face delays in train services of up to 6 to 10 hours in previous years.
Indian Railways has already made provisions for 19,742 Fog Pass Devices to ensure smooth rail operations during the foggy weather. This initiative marks a crucial step in improving the reliability of train services, reducing delays, and enhancing overall passengers’ safety, the Ministry of railways earlier informed.
Read more: Railways To Run Special, Regular Trains For Mahakumbh Mela
