Bhubaneswar: Taking note of rush in trains particularly during Durga puja festivities, Indian Railways has initiated a slew of measures to make the journey of passengers more hassle free.
In view of the heavy rush in trains during Durga puja time, Ministry of Railways is running special trains towards different destinations of the country. The East Coast Railway has also augmented additional coaches in regular trains by creating additional berths.
Senior officials informed that 19 pairs of special trains from ECoR jurisdiction have been augmented with over 4 lakh additional berths created.
These trains are Puri-Santragachhi (Howrah)-Puri, Santragachhi-Chennai-Santragachhi(Howrah), Shalimar-Puri-Santragachhi(Howrah), Bhubaneswar-Secunderabad- Secunderabad Weekly, Bhubaneswar-Secunderabad- Secunderabad bi-weekly, Sambalpur-Banaswadi(Bangalore)-Sambalpur, Sealdah-Puri-Sealdah(Kolkata), Habibganj-Puri-Habibganj (Bhopal), Bhanjapur-Puri-Bhanjapur (Baripada), Secunderabad-Guwahati-Secunderabad, Kacheguda-Tata-Kacheguda(Secunderabad), Chennai-Guwahati, Chennai-Santragachhi, Puduchery-Santragachhi, Visakhapatnam-Araku-Visakhapatnam, Visakhapatnam-Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam, Visakhapatnam-Tirupati-Visakhapatnam, Kacheguda-Srikakulam-Kacheguda(Secunderabad), Kacheguda-Srikakulam-Tirupati, Special.
A number of special trains have been planned between different destinations of the country through East Coast Railway jurisdiction during this Puja season.
Apart from this, 40 (20 pairs) important regular trains have been augmented with additional coaches during the period by creating additional berths also. These include Bhubaneswar-Bangalore-Bhubaneswar Prashanti Express, Bhubaneswar-New Delhi-Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express Trains, Howrah bound Janshatabdi & Dhauli Express, Bhubaneswar-Puduchery Express, Bokaro bound Garib Rath Express, Puri-Haridwar Kalinga Utkal Express, Puri-Durg, Puri-Hatia Tapaswini Express, Patna bound Baidyanathdham Express Howrah bound weekly express trains from Puri and Sambalpur. Similarly, regular trains originating from Visakhapatnam like Visakhapatnam-LTT, AP AC Express and Secunderabad, Kollam, Gandhidham & Sainagar Shirdi bound trains from Visakhapatnam have also been augmented with additional coaches during the puja rush.
ECoR officials informed that some of the trains have been augmented with AC-3 tier coach and some have with Sleeper Class and Second Class Seating Coaches. The Passenger Profile Management Cell of ECoR is continuing monitoring the waiting list positions of the trains to provide facilities of additional berths and coaches to clear wait list passengers during this peak time and trying to facilitate with a comfortable journey.