June 20, 2017
Jubel
East Coast Railway announced number of Ratha Yatra Special Trains in order to clear extra rush of passengers during the festival, a famous Newspaper reported.
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| Ratha Yatra : Special Trains 2017 |
To avoid heavy rush of passengers during the nine-day-long Rath Yatra festival at Puri starting from June 25, the East Coast Railway (ECoR) has decided to run 186 special trains to Puri. ECoR will run these trains to Puri from Khurda, Bhubaneswar, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Paradip, Berhampur, Bhawanipatna, Keonjhar, Bangiriposi (Mayurbhanj), Palasa and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Kharagpur, Shalimar (Kolkata) between June 25 and July 5. All special trains will be named as Yatra Express Special. Following are the further details.
- JUNE 25 : 34 trains will run to Puri for Gundicha Yatra (first day of Ratha Yatra) on June 25.
- JUNE 26 - JULY 1 : A total of 72 trains will be run between June 26 and July 1
- JULY 2 : 14 Trains for Sandhya Darshan of the deities.
- JULY 3 : The Railway has arranged 32 trains for Bahuda Yatra on July 3
- JULY 4 : 34 trains for Sunabesha ritual of the deities falls on next day of the Bahuda Yatra.
- JULY 5 : The ECoR will also run 3 trains on the very next day of Suna Besha on July 5.
On being asked about running of trains from other places like Midnapore, Raipur, Rourkela and Jagdalpur, ECoR chief public relations officer JP Mishra said, "We are open to all proposals. In case there is a demand for special trains from these places, the same can be examined and run, if found feasible." He said they will keep some extra coaches with engine ready to be worked out at short notice. "In case we find crowds at any station, we will run special trains," he added.
The ECoR will also open additional enquiry counters, additional ticket counters, 'May I Help You' booths and additional ticket checking staff at Puri railway station to tackle the heavy rush of passengers. Pilgrim complex constructed during Nabakalebara festival in 2015 will help the devotees to take rest at the station. It will accommodate around 5,000 pilgrims, railway sources said.
The railway zone will also open first aid booths, deploy ambulance along with railway doctors and paramedical staff, GRP and RPF control room, mela shed, area control room and other train operation related control rooms for safe journey of passengers. Over 500 additional RPF personnel and a dog squad will be deployed. Additional CCTVs will be installed in Puri station to keep eye on the movements of suspected elements, said a senior railway officer.
