Aiming to cater to the growing demand during the festive season, the Eastern Railway has decided to run all general coach Chhath special trains from Asansol to Patna. This the first time that such special service is being run on this route.

As informed by the chief public relations officer of the ER, Kausik Mitra, the zonal railway is to run three special trains between Asansol and Patna. The festival special train is to be operated daily at around 1 pm to reach Patna at around 8 pm. The special trains numbered as 03503/03504 Asansol – Patna – Asansol Special, 03511/03512 Asansol – Patna – Asansol Special and 03505/03506 Asansol – Patna – Asansol Special would be operated on 3, 4 and 5 November. In addition to this, the ER is also to run 03135/03136 Kolkata – Patna – Kolkata Special train to cater to the increased rush.

Notably, to ensure smooth, comfortable, and affordable travel, the Eastern Railway decided to increase the Diwali and Chhath special trains this year. As compared to last year when 23 special trains were run during the period, the zonal railway is to operate 50 special trains for the upcoming festivals. Also, 52 special trains are to originate/terminate/pass through Eastern Railway jurisdiction during the festive period which will generate 476 additional trips.

As pointed out by the CPRO, considering a considerable count of migrant labourers of Malda working around New Delhi, the ER has also decided to operate some of the special trains like 03435/03436 Malda Town – Anand Vihar – Malda Town Special accordingly. “The timing of the train has also been kept in such a manner that passengers board the train in the evening and are able to reach their destination the next morning, ” said the principal chief commercial manager of the Eastern Railway, U S Jha. “Even the mechanical department has been asked to maintain the quality of coaches during the period,” he added. As reiterated by Mr Jha, specific instructions have been given to prioritize the running of the festival special trains so that passengers are able to reach their destinations on time. “Special instructions have been issued not to delay any special trains. Also, the control department has been asked to delay the good trains but let the mail, express, passenger and special trains pass particularly for the festival period. If passengers do not reach their destination on time, the entire effort would go wasted,” he added.

Apart from special trains, the ER has made particular arrangements for crowd management at platforms. As informed by the ER officials during a press conference today, railway protection forces are being deployed at the entry points of the platforms while enhanced crowd regulation protocols are being followed at high-footfall stations to avoid stampedes. Furthermore, additional RPF personnel are being deployed at key platforms, foot-over bridges, and congested areas within major stations like Howrah, Sealdah, Kolkata Terminal, Asansol, Bhagalpur, and Malda Town.