Bhubaneswar: Minister of Railways, Information & Broadcasting and Electronics & Information Technology Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw visited Puri Railway Station, today and reviewed the arrangements made for the convenience and benefit of pilgrims and devotees during the Rath Yatra period.
Inspecting the Rath Yatra arrangement by Railways, Shri Vaishnaw expressed the Indian Railways’ commitment towards better passengers’ facilities and convenience and to improve the overall travel experience of its passengers.
Highlighting the initiatives undertaken for Rath Yatra, Railway Minister mentioned that this year, a total of 315 Special Trains are being operated for passenger convenient. These special trains connect Puri with various destinations, including trains from neighbouring states like Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal.
Railways have planned for providing Special Trains from every part of Odisha like Badampahar, Bangiriposi, Rourkela, Sambalpur, Junagarh Road, Sonepur, Gunupur, Brahmapur, Daspalla, Angul, Paradeep, Kendujhargarh, Bhadrak, and Baleswar. Steps have been taken to connect Puri with all districts.
Vaishnaw also highlighted the measures to be implemented by Railways during Car Festival are – Crowd Management, Train Information System/Enquiry Counters, Video Walls Display, UTS on Mobile App, Additional Ticket Booking Counters and Mobile Ticket Counters, Pilgrim Waiting Area/Shed and Mela Shed to accommodate more than 25 Thousand pilgrims & devotees, Security Arrangements, Catering & Hospitality, Medical Facilities & Ambulance, as well as the provision of power supply, water supply, cleanliness, security, drinking water, and sufficient toilets for the convenience of passengers, especially pilgrims.
Railway Minister Shri Vaishnaw further added that, this year, Railways aims to carry 15 lakhs passengers to and from Puri towards their destinations. Apart from this, Special Trains will be run by using AI based dynamic Scheduling System. Whenever demand raise, Railway will provide more trains to the particular destination.
