New Delhi: Indian Railways will run 992 special trains and 6,580 regular trains during the Mahakumbh Mela 2025 to help the many devotees travelling to Prayagraj. With around 30 crore people expected to visit from across the country and the world, the Railways are working hard to make sure everything goes smoothly.
Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw recently announced that, compared to the last Kumbh Mela, the number of trains will increase by over 300 special and 1,500 regular trains. This year, approximately 992 special trains will run, up from 695 in 2019, and 6,580 regular trains will be operational, compared to 5,000 in 2019.
These special train services and passenger facilities will be started for the pilgrims from January 12 to February 28. Around 140 trains will run daily from the Prayagraj zone, and circular trains will run from Prayagraj-Ayodhya-Varanasi-Prayagraj and Prayagraj-Varanasi-Ayodhya-Prayagraj. To tackle the heavy rush, ticketing capacity will be increased manifold, Vaishnaw said.
To tackle the heavy rush during the event, railways has already started regular meetings with the State government at the district and Commissionerate level to chalk out a strategy for the mela. Coordination will take place with NGOs and three railway zones, ensuring sufficient accommodation is provided for on-duty employees.
The railways are working on the number of employees required for crowd management during the mela and how they will work in case of any emergency, the officials said.
The railway officials said that given the provision of strict security and safety at the stations, a large number of screens will be installed in the control tower to keep the vigil to avert any untoward incidents and install high-quality equipment for making announcements.
The railway minister said to provide better facilities to the devotees, the railways will set up additional shelters, restrooms, toilet centres, booking counters, food stalls, water booths, electric lighting systems, CCTV cameras, a control room for monitoring, medical booths and security posts.
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