Title - Railways to run 750 special trains for Kumbh Mela 2013

The Indian Railways is gearing up to facilitate the rush of passengers during the Maha Kumbh Mela at Allahabad in February next year and is expected to run around 750 special trains and make arrangements for additional 1,800 coaches to ensure seamless travel for devotees, as per a TOI report. As Railways is expecting a rush of around 8.30 crore people during the Kumbh Mela, the state transporter is working on enhancing the capacity of around 100 existing trains by adding more coaches to ferry passengers travelling to the holy city apart from running special trains. "We are pooling around 1,800 additional coaches from all 16 zones," P Guha, Executive Director (Coaching), Railway Board, said.

According to estimates, around three crore devotees are expected to visit Allahabad on Mauni Amawasya (February 10). Around 133 additional booking, enquiry and reservation counters will be opened in Allahabad, Naini, Sangam, Prayag and Vindhyachal. Considering the enormous task, a Mela Adhikari (Pfficer) has been appointed by the Railways to coordinate with other agencies involved in making the arrangements.

Railways has charted out comprehensive traffic movement plan during the Mela period around the holy city. Security aspect has been given priority and a control room has been set up from where security personnel will keep watch on the activities of suspicious elements through CCTVs installed at various places. The transporter is also emphasiding on maintaining cleanliness on stations and its premises during the Mela.

Considering the huge rush of passengers during Kumbh, railways is making arrangements for passenger amenities including electronic display boards, passenger announcement system, construction of adequate number of ticket counters and toilets/urinals for the large number of pilgrims.