With a series of festivals to follow like Dusshera, Diwali and Chhath, passenger inflow has increased in trains making it difficult to get reservations for people visiting their hometown to join in the celebrations. Keeping the festival season in mind, Ranchi Rail Division has decided to introduce special trains to cater to the increased passenger traffic.

A puja express special train between Hatia — Lokmanya Tilak Terminu (LTT)s — Hatia has been introduced. Train number 08609 from Hatia to LTT will operate for five Wednesday’s between October 2 to October 30 where as train number 08610 will operate on five Friday’s from LTT to Hatia from October 4 to November 1.

For Yeswanthpur, Bengaluru trains are operational from Hatia thrice a week — Wednesday, Friday and Saturday in which two extra coaches are being attached till December 31. In the Patliputra Express from Hatia to Patna junction one extra coach is being provided where as for the Garib Rath Express to New Delhi an AC three- tier coach is also being added.

“For the convenience of the passengers, depending on the availability an attempt to add extra coaches is made every year. Hatia- LTT is a special puja train started this year for the festive season. Apart from this if an extra coach is required in any other train, provisions are being made if possible,” said Neeraj Kumar, Chief Public Relations Officer, Ranchi Rail Division.

Apart from starting new trains and adding extra coaches to the existing ones, railways are also making every possible effort at Ranchi, Hatia and Muri stations for the benefit of the passengers.

“Frequent passenger amenities like the public announcement system is being made use of regularly to announce the arrivals and departures of the trains. It is also being monitored to ensure that no there is no confusion among the passengers about the train schedules. Railway Protection Force (RPF) booths have been set up and are being supervised to solve any passenger queries. Provision to provide first aid has also been made at the stations,” added Kumar.

For families travelling with infants, arrangements for hot water bottles, diapers and milk powder are also available at these stations. At the foot- over bridges RPF personnel have been deployed to manage the crowd during rush hours and avoid a stampede like situation while continuous monitoring over CCTV cameras is also being done.

For Navratra special thali’s are also available in the Food Plaza at the Ranchi station. “The facility of booking the Navratri thali is also available on the IRCTC app and the food will get delivered at the passenger’s berth.  Ensuring cleanliness separate dustbins for wet and dry waste have been placed at the stations at frequent intervals,” said the official.

For female passengers and children, lady RPF’s and travelling ticket examiner (TTE) have been posted espically for women traveling alone or with small children  “At Ranchi station, there is also a child helpline booth which is active 24X7 to avoid any cases of child trafficking which is generally on the rise during the festival season,” added the PRO.