"7,435 special trains being run for passengers": Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

New Delhi [India], November 1 : Amid the festive season, Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday said that a record 7,435 special trains are being run for the ease of the passengers and 150 additional special trains will be scheduled to run if required.
The union minister was at New Delhi railway station to oversee the arrangements made for the travelling of passengers during the festive season.
Vaishnaw further informed that 51 lakh people have already travelled on special trains till October 31. As the festivities conclude, the Indian Railways is making arrangements to manage the return of the commuters, he said, adding that 150 more special trains will run if needed.
"Good arrangements have been made. A big holding area has been set up. Methodical arrangements have been made for the proper movement of passengers. A record 7435 special trains are being run. Last year the number was 4500 which in itself was a record. Till 31 October, 51 lakh people have travelled on special trains... After the festivities conclude, arrangements are in place to manage the return traffic. Elaborate arrangements have been made at all major railway stations. The passengers liked the arrangements. I would like to thank them for their cooperation with Railway staff and RPF. In addition to 7435 special trains, 150 more special trains will be run if needed," the Union Railways Minister said.
Indian Railways is running special trains across the country to ensure the safe travel of passengers to their hometowns on the occasion of Chhath Puja.
Dilip Kumar, Executive Director of Information and Publicity for Railway Board, informed that the Indian Railways ran more than 160 trains on Thursday and they plan to run more than 170 trains today. He said that the Indian Railways have made special arrangements in all important stations in the country including New Delhi, Anand Vihar, Ahmedabad, Surat, Baroda, Mumbai, Bandra, Vijayawada, Vishakhapatnam, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru.
"The special arrangements are made for people travelling to their hometown during Chhath Puja. We are running different trains to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to clear the rush. Yesterday, we ran more than 160 trains and today we have planned to run more than 170 trains. Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railways Protection Force (RPF) staff have been deployed to manage the crowd and Rail Sewaks have been deployed to clear doubts regarding travelling," the railway official said.
Meanwhile, commuters on Friday shared their experiences, noting an improvement in the government's preparations for the festive season.
"The government has started special trains, but the situation remains largely the same as before. Ticket availability is always an issue--we never seem to get one. However, sanitation in trains has improved. Ever since the government disallowed travel on waitlisted tickets, we've faced more difficulties. While improvements are visible, the ticket issue persists," a commuter travelling in Lokmanya Tilak Express said.