Bhubaneswar, June 28: The Ministry of Railways has planned to run 315 Special Trains to and from Puri during the Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath for smooth travel and convenience of the pilgrims from 6th July to 19th July, 2024, said an official release.
This year, Gundicha Yatra being celebrated for two days. Having experience from previous Rath Yatra festivals, ECoR has planned to run Special Trains from different parts of Odisha and from neighboring States.
According to an ECoR statement, this year, Special Trains have been planned from Badampahad, Rourkela, Baleswar, Sonepur and Daspalla apart from Special trains from Junagarh Road, Sambalpur, Kendujhargarh, Paradeep, Bhadrak, Angul, Gunupur, Bangiriposi on Gundicha Yatra.
Apart from this, Special Trains have also been planned for Sandhya Darshan, Bahuda Yatra and Suna Vesha. This year, ECoR has also planned to run Special trains for the Adharapana Festival of Rath Yatra. These apart, ECoR assured to run more Special Trains in view of rush and demands from devotees. Expecting the gathering of more devotees during the above festival days, Railways have assured to run more Special Trains in view of rush and demands from devotees.
For the convenience of the passengers, East Coast Railway has taken necessary steps to provide reserved Class Accommodation in some of the long distance Special Trains during the festival period.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, emphasized the importance of improving passenger amenities and facilities during the Rath Yatra period and advised ECoR for provision of better convenience and benefits for the pilgrims and devotees.
Keeping in view the commitment of Railway Minister for providing all facilities to the devotees, ECoR has taken initiatives for crowd management, Train Information System/Enquiry Counters, Video Walls Display, Additional Ticket Booking Counters and Mobile Ticket Counters, Pilgrim Waiting Area/Shed to accommodate 15,000 pilgrims, Security Arrangements, Catering & Hospitality, Medical Facilities & Ambulance, as well as the provision of power supply, water supply, cleanliness, security, drinking water, and sufficient toilets for the convenience of passengers, especially pilgrims.
East Coast Railway General Manager Parmeshwar Funkwal inspected the Rath Yatra arrangement at Puri Railway Station and took stock of facilities being provided to the pilgrims.
Funkwal also instructed the concerned officials to complete the Rath Yatra arrangements and facilities much before the scheduled period of Rath Yatra.
