Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], October 21 : With the onset of the Diwali and Chhath festivals, the Bhopal Division of West Central Railway has started operating special trains to manage the additional rush during these festive season.
Two trains have been operating from Rani Kamlapati Railway Station in Bhopal in view of Chhath Parv. RaniKamlapati-Danapur Special train (01667) is running twice a week on Tuesday and Saturday, while Rani Kamlapati-Agartala special train (01665) is operating once a week on Thursday.
Addressing the media, Bhopal Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Pankaj Tyagi said "We made adequate arrangements for Diwali in order to clear the extra rush. Now, another occasion is arriving, that is Chhath puja and the railways made preparations for the same. We have also planned to run some special trains from here. Two trains will depart from here to Danapur (Bihar) in a week on Tuesday and Saturday. Along with this one train which operates till Agartala will also run once a week. These three trains will help us to deal with the extra rush in the division."
He also highlighted that some extra coaches were added in the train in view of the Diwali festival and it helped them a lot.
DRM Tyagi further emphasised the implementation of a comprehensive crowd management and passenger facilitation plan to ensure safe and smooth travel for passengers.
Speaking about the ticketing issues, he said "We have three hand holding devices for ticketing in this division. Of these two are operating in Bhopal and one in Itarsi. Whenever the ticketing queue gets longer then it is used to provide tickets to minimise passenger trouble. Along with this, Automatic Ticket Vending Machines (ATVMs) are operating at all the railway stations. We have also increased some ticketing counters at some places."
He also stressed that the separate entry lines are arranged for reserved and unreserved passengers, and passengers are being guided onto platforms according to capacity. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has also been deployed to manage queues using ropes and barricades for both reserved and unreserved passengers at major stations.