Title - Railways to run special trains from Haridwar, Dehradun to clear stranded people

The Northern Railway today said it was sending four empty coaching rakes trains to Haridwar and Dehradun for evacuation of stranded people from flood-hit Uttarakhand by running special trains as shuttle services between those places and Ambala, Delhi and Lucknow.  
In addition, additional coaches are being arranged from other Zonal Railways which will be used for running long-distance special trains to locations such as Mumbai, Howrah, Ahmedabad, JammuTawi and so on, a press release from the Railway said.  
The release said additional booking and enquiry counters were being set up at Haridwar and Dehradun for handling the expected rush of passengers.  
Adequate arrangements of catering facilities and drinking water have been ensured at these locations.   
Frequent announcements through the public address system regarding status of trains and  other passenger-related services have been ensured, the release said.  
It said the commercial and medical departments have ensured satisfactory sanitation at these locations to minimize passenger inconvenience.  
The carriage & wagon and electrical departments have ensured that adequate staff and material are available at these locations to meet with additional maintenance requirements.  
All other departments involved with station maintenance including passenger facilities have   taken adequate measures to handle the additional passenger traffic expected at these locations, it said.  
The release said senior officers have been deputed to take charge of these efforts at the two places. They will maintain liaison and co-ordination with the State civil authorities and ensure management and dispersal of passengers, the release added.  
Doctors and paramedical staff in sufficient numbers have been deployed  at these stations, the release added.