PolicyRailways
Railways to run about 18,000 festive specials, half as many again as last year, says Vaishnaw
Reviewing the Dhanteras crowds at New Delhi station on Friday, the Railway Minister said 10 years of travel data had been used to work out when and where the extra trains are needed.
Key points
- Indian Railways is running about 18,000 special trains this festive season, against about 12,000 last year.
- A model built on 10 years of passenger data picked the peak days and stations.
- The rush peaks on Dhanteras and three days before Chhath, Ashwini Vaishnaw said.
Indian Railways is running about 18,000 special trains this festive season, half as many again as last year’s figure of about 12,000, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Friday as he walked through the evening crowds at New Delhi Railway Station.
The extra trains cover Durga Puja, Diwali and Chhath, the three festivals that send millions of workers in Delhi and other big cities home to their villages. Several trains that ran as specials in earlier years have now been made regular services, the minister said.
Planned on a decade of travel data
Vaishnaw said the timetable for the specials was drawn up using an AI model that studied 10 years of passenger data, leaving out the Covid-19 years, to find which stations see the heaviest demand and at what hours. The aim, he said, was to learn from the experience of every festive season.
The data turned up a pattern that surprised many. “The rush is at its peak during ‘Dhanteras’ rather than on the day of the main Diwali festival,” Vaishnaw said. Friday was Dhanteras. The second big surge comes about three days before Chhath Puja, and on both kinds of day the crowds start building after 5 pm and keep coming through the night, as factory and office workers finish their shifts and head for their villages. Extra trains have been timed for both peaks.
Holding areas and war rooms
New Delhi station normally handles more than five lakh passengers a day, a number that climbs to about eight lakh in the festive weeks. The station used to have six entry gates, which Vaishnaw said caused confusion. Entry has now been brought together, with a dedicated holding area for passengers with reserved tickets, and luggage screening and other essential facilities have been moved outside the station building. Similar holding areas at other major stations were showing good results, he said.
War rooms are working round the clock at the Railway Board, the Northern Railway zone, the divisional office and the stations themselves, and a four-tier war room has been set up in Mumbai and other places. Officials watch the crowds on platforms and approaches and send passengers elsewhere when one point starts to choke.
For emergencies, about six spare train rakes are on standby at the Shakur Basti depot in Delhi, ready to be pressed into service if a sudden surge leaves passengers stranded.
Why it matters
The festive exodus is the hardest test of the year for the railways. Overcrowded platforms and long queues at the big Delhi terminals have led to dangerous crushes in past seasons, and the ministry’s approach this year leans on more trains, more staff and holding areas that keep crowds off the platforms until their train is ready.
The festive plan in numbers
- 18,000 special trainsUp from about 12,000 in last year's festive season.
- 8 lakh daily footfallPassengers a day at New Delhi station during the festivals, against over five lakh normally.
- 10 years of travel dataUsed to pick the peak days, stations and train timings.
The heaviest days are still ahead. With Diwali on Sunday and Chhath to follow, the Chhath peak of homebound travel is expected next week.