Railway Minister Reviews Preparations for Mahakumbh 2025

Hon’ble Railway Minister, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, visited Prayagraj to personally review Indian Railways' extensive preparations for Mahakumbh 2025. He inspected stations under North Central Railway (NCR), North Eastern Railway (NER), and Northern Railway (NR) to ensure all systems were in place for the massive influx of pilgrims.

• Shri Vaishnaw interacted with railway personnel and lauded seamless coordination between various departments.
• He expressed gratitude to Hon'ble Prime Minister, Home Minister, Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and neighboring states for their cooperation.
• He thanked the entire railway workforce, from frontline staff to engineers, security, and medical teams for their tireless efforts.

Unprecedented Scale of Rail Operations:

• Indian Railways ran 17,152 trains for Mahakumbh, surpassing the originally planned 13,000 trains.
• 7,667 special trains and 9,485 regular trains were operated, ensuring efficient travel for millions of pilgrims.
• Total number of pilgrims for Mahakumbh: 66 crore, with 4.24 crore passengers handled at 9 key railway stations in Prayagraj.

Passenger Facilities in Prayagraj:

• Infrastructure upgrades: 48 platforms, 21 Foot Over Bridges (FoBs), and 9 stations with second entry points.
• 1,186 CCTV cameras (10% with facial recognition) and drone surveillance for crowd management.
• 23 permanent holding areas established for peak-hour congestion.
• 554 ticket counters, including 151 mobile UTS counters and a QR-based ticketing system.
• 21 Road Over/Under Bridges (ROBs/RUBs) for improved connectivity.
• Multilingual announcements and leaflets in 23 languages for better communication.

Medical and Emergency Preparedness:

• Centralised help desks, medical facilities, ambulances, fire brigades, and mobile toilets deployed.
• 3 lakh pilgrims received medical assistance.
• Parcel traffic restricted to ensure smooth passenger movement.
• App-based deployment for efficient staff coordination and accommodation.

Additional Key Preparations:

• 13,000 extra staff deployed across stations.
• 22 dog squads, 1,000+ sanitation workers, 1,500+ TTEs, and over 3,000 running staff ensured smooth operations.
• Special arrangements made for crowd management, including fixed barricading, segregated pathways, and signages.
• Close coordination with district authorities, including the Chief Secretary, DGP, and SPs.
• Dedicated monitoring of train operations, rakes, and coaches.

Conclusion: Indian Railways' commitment to facilitating a safe and efficient Mahakumbh experience is evident through these extensive efforts. The seamless execution of operations sets a new benchmark in large-scale operational excellence, reinforcing Indian Railways' role as the backbone of the nation’s transport system.

Source/NR