As the festive season approaches, Central Railway is stepping up its services to manage the increased passenger traffic for Diwali and Chhath Puja. A senior official announced that the railway division has already operated 705 special trains, successfully carrying over 10.6 lakh passengers.
Looking ahead, Central Railway has ambitious plans to introduce a total of 1,998 special trains. This significant increase is part of a larger national effort by zonal railways to run 12,011 special trains between September 19 and November 30. The majority of these special services from Central Railway will originate from Pune and Mumbai.
These additional trains are expected to benefit more than 30 lakh passengers, providing much-needed convenience for those traveling to key states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh. Mumbai alone will see over 600 special trains being scheduled.
To ensure a seamless travel experience, Central Railway is implementing comprehensive crowd management strategies. Holding areas at major stations like LTT, CSMT, and Pune are being expanded, with plans to increase capacity at LTT from 8,000 to 10,000 passengers. Furthermore, enhanced security is in place with additional personnel from the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) deployed across critical stations. Platforms are being assigned in advance, and measures are being taken to avoid crowding on island platforms to facilitate smooth passenger movement.