National: Indian Railways will be operating serval special trains to facilitate travellers during the Chhath Puja festival from stations like Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra, Jammu Tawi, Amritsar and Ludhiana, said Ferozepur DCM Payal today (November 4).

Indian Railways on Friday (November 1) announced that they would run special trains across the country to ensure passengers can travel safely to their hometowns for Chhath Puja.

"Special trains will be operational from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra, Jammu Tawi, Amritsar and Ludhiana both in reserved and unreserved category. Measures have been taken to ensure the safety and security of passengers and special help desk has also been raised," she added.

"We want to assure all the passengers the Indian Railway is working hard so that they can enjoy festivals with their families," she said.

Railway Board Chairman reviews facilities 

Earlier, Railway Board Chairman Satish Kumar on Sunday inspected facilities and said Railways are operating 195 special trains in 13 days from the Delhi area this year to facilitate the passengers.

"We are operating extra trains as part of the arrangements. We are operating 195 special trains in 13 days from the Delhi area this year... Today, 70 trains are running from Delhi, of which 16 are special trains, and 4 trains are unannounced. Through these measures, we are trying to provide facilities to the passengers. I asked passengers about the arrangements, they are satisfied with the arrangements made this year," Kumar told media.

Railway Board Chairman interacts with passengers 

The Railway Board Chairman also interacted with passengers travelling amid Chhath Puja rush. Indian Railways on Friday announced that they would run special trains across the country to ensure passengers can travel safely to their hometowns for Chhath Puja.

Dilip Kumar, Executive Director of Information and Publicity for the Railway Board, said that special arrangements have been made at all major stations, including New Delhi, Anand Vihar, Ahmedabad, Surat, Baroda, Mumbai, Bandra, Vijayawada, Vishakhapatnam, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Bengaluru.

"The special arrangements are for people travelling to their hometowns during Chhath Puja. We are running various trains to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to accommodate the rush. Yesterday, we ran more than 160 trains, and today we plan to run over 170 trains. Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railways Protection Force (RPF) staff have been deployed to manage the crowd, and Rail Sewaks are available to assist travellers with any questions," he said.

"Tickets can be booked through both online and offline systems. Those unable to obtain confirmed tickets can access unreserved seats. We have restricted unnecessary movement of travellers, and Rail Sewaks are on hand to assist senior and physically challenged citizens," Kumar added.

Know about Chhath festival

Chhath is a significant festival primarily celebrated in the northern and eastern parts of India, including Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Bihar.