Every year during Diwali, hundreds of thousands of people return home and for this purpose, the railways runs many special trains. Even after taking the special train many times, many people still cannot get their confirmed tickets. Still, people come home somehow. These days, railway stations are crowded with passengers. An unusually heavy crowd was seen at Udna railway station in Surat on Sunday. Hundreds of workers involved in the textile and diamond industries are heading to their homes in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to celebrate Diwali and Chhath Puja. The scene in Surat bears some resemblance to the dangerous stampede of passengers at Mumbai’s Bandra railway station, in which 10 people were injured.
Even after passing many special trains, the crowds still grew
Officials said the Railways has arranged special trains for Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and on Sunday, a new train was added from Udna to Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. To ensure smooth operations, the city’s three railway stations – Surat, Udna and Bestan – have dispatched trains to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in view of the heavy crowds these days, an official said.
Government railway police deployed on the platform
The official said that as a large number of people thronged the train bound for the destination, government railway police were deployed on the platform to control the crowd. He told reporters that 30 trains departed from Surat railway station for UP and Bihar, 18 trains departed from Udhna and seven trains departed from Bhestan. Officials said many trains will run once a week, with some running twice, three or even five times a week.
Special trains running between Udhna and Gorakhpur
Meanwhile, Western Railway said in a press release that it is running additional festive trains to reduce the extra rush for passengers this season. One of the routes has been opened between Udna and Gorakhpur from Sunday. Many workers from Surat involved in the diamond and textile industries travel to their hometowns in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to attend Chhath Puja and Diwali. At least 10 people were injured in a stampede at Mumbai’s Bandra railway station on Sunday morning, municipal corporation officials said. The stampede occurred as hundreds of people tried to board a Gorakhpur-bound train to their hometown for Diwali and Chhath festivals.
