Maha Kumbh: Railway Minister Vaishnaw launches slew of initiatives for pilgrims

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday launched a number of key initiatives to boost Indian Railways’ readiness for the Maha Kumbh beginning Monday in Prayagraj, with an intention to offer protected, seamless and technologically-advanced companies for the tens of millions of pilgrims anticipated to hitch the mega gathering over the subsequent 45 days. In response to a press assertion issued by the Railway Board, the initiatives embody the launch of a 24×7 Kumbh Struggle Room, CCTV cameras on all close by stations, multilingual communication system, and extra ticket counters, amongst others.

“A devoted warfare room on the Railway Board degree has been inaugurated. It’ll function 24×7, with officers from operations, industrial, RPF, mechanical, engineering, and electrical departments monitoring and coordinating the actions,” Dilip Kumar, government director for info and publicity, Railway Board, stated.

“A complete of 1,176 CCTV cameras have been put in at 9 stations within the Prayagraj area to offer stay feeds for real-time monitoring,” he added.

In response to officers, the warfare room will facilitate efficient coordination between the district authorities and railway officers, guaranteeing fast help and operational effectivity.

Kumar stated a 12-language announcement system has additionally been inaugurated at Prayagraj, Naini, Cheoki, and Subedarganj stations to help the pilgrims.

“A facilitation booklet in 22 languages has been made for disseminating important info to the pilgrims,” Kumar added. Speaking about passenger facilities within the Prayagraj area, Kumar stated 10,000 common trains, 3,134 particular trains — 4.5 instances greater than the earlier Kumbh — and 1,869 short-distance trains will function throughout the Kumbh interval. “Apart from, 706 long-distance trains and 559 ring trains may also be operated for the comfort of the pilgrims,” he added.

Additionally, freight trains have been diverted to the devoted freight corridors (DFC) to make sure easy passenger practice operations, officers stated.

The Railway Board made an funding of Rs 5,000 crore over the previous three years to develop the Kumbh-related tasks, establishing services akin to 48 platforms, 21 foot-over bridges, 23 everlasting holding areas with a mixed capability of over 1 lakh pilgrims, 554 ticketing counters, together with 151 cell UTS counters, and 21 street over/below bridges to boost street and rail mobility, amongst others.

“Infrastructure growth value Rs 3,700 crore has been finished, which embody the Banaras-Prayagraj (together with the Ganga Bridge) and Phaphamau-Janghai doubling tasks,” Kumar stated.

As many as 40 crore pilgrims are anticipated to go to the Maha Kumbh this yr, of which 5 crore pilgrims are anticipated on Mauni Amavasya (January 29) alone.

“Particular colour-coded tickets and barcode-enabled UTS techniques have been launched for smoother operations,” Kumar stated.

“These initiatives intention to make sure a protected, environment friendly, and technology-driven expertise for the pilgrims, underscoring Indian Railways’ dedication to cultural and infrastructural excellence,” he added.