Northern Railway prepares action plan to manage crowds during festive season. Details here

To manage festival rush, 78 trains will be in operation between October 29 and November 10.

With the festive season officially underway, the Northern Railway (NR) is gearing up to manage crowds at railway stations in the national capital, and to ensure that they comply with Covid-19 norms. As heavy rush is expected due to festivals such as Diwali and Chhath Puja, both of which will be celebrated next month, NR will run 78 trains from Delhi to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar from October 29 to November 10.

New Delhi railway station (Arvind Yadav/HT)

To manage crowds effectively, officials have directed that trains will be parked at designated platform 30 minutes before scheduled departure time, according to a report in Hindustan Times' sister publication Live Hindustan; this is being done to give passengers sufficient time to get onboard. Additionally, during festivals, there shall be no change in platform from which a train is scheduled to depart.

All trains leaving for Bihar from New Delhi and Anand Vihar railway stations will depart from platform number 16 and 1 respectively, officials said. This, according to them, is because these are close to the entrance gate of the respective railway stations.

To ensure compliance with Covid-19 norms, arrangements will be made for sanitisation at all stations, Dimpi Garg, Delhi Zone rail manager, said, adding that passengers will be made to undergo thermal screening. On platforms, marks have been made for social distancing, she further said.