Railways braces for next Kumbh Mela Amrit Snan

Railway Minister confirms functioning of Prayagraj stations during Mahakumbh, with record number of trains for pilgrims.

Quelling rumours that railway stations at Prayagraj were not functioning, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said 2.5 lakh pilgrims were facilitated and a record 330 trains departed from Prayagraj Mahakumbh area stations on Sunday. This number is almost on par with 360 trains that were run on Mauni Amavasya last month, when the rush was at its peak.

“Today, 130 trains have departed from the mela area so far,” Mr. Vaishnaw said on X.

Further, officials said a total of 201 trains have departed by 3 p.m. on Monday, carrying over nine lakh pilgrims.

Mr. Vaishnaw and Railway Board Chairman Satish Kumar reviewed the ongoing rush situation and Railways’ preparedness ahead of next Amrit Snan of Maghi Poornima on Febuary 12.

Ahead of the next Amrit Snan of Maghi Poornima, one rake of these trains will be catering to an average of 3,780 passengers in a single trip, which indicates that the incoming flow of people is not coming down.

“Even though the rush is not coming down, Indian Railways is running one train each from these stations in just above four minutes and making sure that devotees do not have to wait after their holy bathing,” officials said.

Reviewing the situation at a meeting with zonal and divisional railway officials, Mr. Kumar mentioned that Prayagraj Junction along with seven other stations — Prayagraj Chheoki, Naini, Subedarganj, Prayag, Phaphamau, Prayagraj Rambagh, and Jhusi — are fully functional. Despite the continued rush, special and regular trains are running at full capacity from these eight stations from Prayagraj area.