Howrah Puja special trains will add 174 trips during the Durga Puja travel period as the Eastern Railway’s Howrah Division prepares for heavy passenger movement, longer queues and crowd-management challenges at major stations. The railway has also increased ticketing support, staffing and emergency arrangements across the division.
The special services began on Mahalaya, marking the start of the festival period. In addition, special services and extra stoppages for multiple EMU and MEMU trains have been arranged from October 17 to 21 to manage the expected increase in local-train passengers.
According to the Howrah Division’s plan, the special operation covers seven pairs of trains, accounting for 174 trips. A standby rake and additional coaches have been kept ready to respond to emergencies or operational requirements during the rush.
The railway is also expanding ticketing capacity at Howrah station. Six additional counters will be added to the existing 30 counters. Across the division, 14 M-UTS assistants will support passengers, while 17 additional shifts will be introduced for unreserved ticketing. The railway has further planned 366 ATVM assistants and 52 special assistants across Howrah and the wider division, a higher deployment than last year.
Additional M-UTS counters will also operate within holding areas so that passengers can buy tickets before moving towards the main boarding zones. The arrangement is intended to reduce congestion around ticket counters and help regulate passenger movement inside the station.
Howrah Divisional Railway Manager Bishal Kapoor said the division had prepared a 12-day schedule focused on enabling passengers to travel safely. He added that further planning would be undertaken for Lakshmi Puja and Kali Puja.
Fourteen stations across the Howrah Division have been identified as high-footfall or sensitive locations. At Howrah station, platforms 1 to 24 cover approximately 87,058 square metres, with arrangements designed to safely accommodate up to 300,000 passengers at one time.
The railway said Railway Protection Force personnel and commercial staff would remain deployed around the clock to manage crowds and ensure orderly queues for trains. Passenger facilities and safety systems, including drinking-water supply, lifts, escalators, foot overbridges and CCTV cameras, have been checked ahead of the festival movement.
Announcements and video-wall updates will be provided in Bengali, Hindi and English. The multilingual communication plan is intended to help passengers access timely information as they travel to visit puja venues across the region.
The Howrah Division’s next operational focus will be the implementation of the 12-day schedule, the additional local-train services between October 17 and 21, and continued planning for the subsequent Lakshmi Puja and Kali Puja travel periods.
