South Central Railway has operated 120 special trains in the past week to manage the festive travel rush, carrying around four lakh additional passengers during the Dasara, Diwali and Chhath Puja season, officials said.
The trains are being run from key stations across the zone to destinations recording high demand, including Prayagraj, Danapur, Santragachi, Nizamuddin, Tiruvannamalai, Brahmapuram, Nagercoil, Chhapra, Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Kollam, Palanpur, Tirupati, Narasapur, Kakinada, Visakhapatnam and Srikakulam Road.
The passenger increase comes during one of the busiest travel periods on the railway network, when demand rises for journeys to major cities, pilgrimage centres and hometowns. The special services are intended to provide additional capacity on routes experiencing heavy bookings and footfall.
SCR has also announced enhanced arrangements at major stations to manage crowd movement and maintain passenger security. The measures include additional Railway Protection Force personnel at stations expected to witness heavy footfall.
Officers from the Commercial Department have been deployed at major hubs to monitor passenger movement, coordinate arrangements and respond to passenger requirements. Supervisors have also been posted at smaller stations as part of the zone’s crowd-management plan.
The operational response places station management at the centre of the festive travel strategy. Beyond adding train services, railway authorities are monitoring the movement of passengers inside stations, coordinating security deployment and managing the flow of travellers across hubs of different sizes.
The list of destinations covered by the special trains spans northern, southern and eastern parts of the country, reflecting the wide travel catchment of South Central Railway during the festive season. Services connect the zone with locations such as Prayagraj, Danapur, Nizamuddin, Bengaluru, Tirupati, Visakhapatnam and Nagercoil.
SCR said the arrangements are focused on crowd management, passenger convenience and security. The zone’s officials are continuing to oversee passenger flow at major and smaller stations as the festive travel period proceeds.
