Maha Kumbh 2025 in Prayagraj has already witnessed an astonishing 53 crore sacred baths (Snana), making it the largest religious gathering in the world.
With millions of devotees arriving daily, the Indian Railways is playing a pivotal role in managing the seamless transportation of pilgrims.
A massive logistical effort with ₹5,000 Cr work done in the last 3 years for the Maha Kumbh area has been undertaken to ensure a smooth experience for all travellers. This includes among other things, upgraded railway stations, over 13,000 trains scheduled to be run, and advanced crowd management systems. Have a look at how the Indian Railways is facilitating this grand spiritual spectacle:
1. Massive Railway Operations for Maha Kumbh 2025
Train Diversions for Seamless Travel
● All goods trains have been diverted in the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) to prioritize passenger movement.
● 200 rakes with train sets or engines on both sides are deployed to avoid shunting operations.
Unprecedented number of Train Services
● 13,000 trains were planned till 26th February 2025, out of which 12,583 had already run by 16th February 2025.
● IR handling the Peak Passenger Flow:
○ Since 13th January 2025, 3.09 crore pilgrims have been handled by IR in the Prayagraj Kumbh area.
○ On 17th 18.60 lakh passengers and on 16th February 2025, 18.48 lakh passengers were handled, one of the highest passenger movements in the last two days.
○ Other significant peak dates:
■ 15th February: 14.76 lakh passengers
■ 12th February: 17 lakh passengers
■ 10th & 11 January: More than 14 lakh passengers
■ 30th January: 17.57 lakh passengers
■ 29th January: 27 lakh passengers
■ 28th January: 14.15 lakhs passengers
■ 14th January: 13.87 lakh passengers
2. Passenger Facilities at Railway Stations
To accommodate the massive influx of devotees, Indian Railways has ensured the following:
Improved Infrastructure
● 9 railway stations with second entries to manage crowd flow.
● 48 platforms (PF) & 21 Foot Over Bridges (FoB) for smooth passenger movement.
● Indian Railways has installed 1,186 CCTV cameras across nine stations in the Prayagraj Mela region as part of a comprehensive surveillance system.
● 23 permanent holding areas to manage waiting passengers.
● Announcements in 12 languages at major stations:
○ Prayagraj, Naini, Cheoki, and Subedarganj
Ticketing Enhancements
● 554 ticketing arrangements, including 151 mobile UTS ticketing points, to streamline the ticketing process.
3. Major Railway Infrastructure Upgrades
The Indian Railways has invested heavily in infrastructure to ensure seamless travel:
● ₹3,700 crore investment for major railway infrastructure projects, including:
○ Banaras-Prayagraj rail doubling, including a new Ganga Bridge.
○ Phaphamau-Janghai rail doubling to increase train capacity.
● 21 new Road Over Bridges (ROB) and Road Under Bridges (RUB) to enhance road and rail mobility.
● Color-Coded System for Easy Passenger Navigation
Colour coding of Yatri Ashryas, holding areas and tickets has been done for easy identification and direction-wise segregation of passengers:
○ Red: Lucknow, Ayodhya and Varanasi
○ Blue: DDU, Sasaram, Patna
○ Yellow: Manikpur, Jhansi, Satna, Katni (Madhya Pradesh area)
○ Green: Kanpur, Agra, Delhi
4. Robust Security & Crowd Management
Given the high volume of travellers, railway authorities have implemented extensive security measures
:
● Control Centers established at multiple levels:
○ Station level, Division level, Zonal level, and Railway Board level.
● Security Deployment
○ 13,000 Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel.
○ 10,000 Government Railway Police (GRP) & paramilitary staff stationed at key locations.
● 3,000+ running staff assigned to ensure smooth train operations.
With 53 crore snans already performed at Maha Kumbh 2025, the Indian Railways is ensuring that millions of devotees can travel safely and comfortably. From special trains to advanced crowd control measures, the railway network is efficiently handling the world’s largest religious gathering.
