Lucknow: Anticipating a surge in passenger traffic during Diwali and Chhath, Northern Railway’s Lucknow division has scheduled 1,704 trips by 54 pairs of special trains, besides planning 10 additional train services between Nov 9 and 13 to handle the festive rush. Seven additional train rakes will remain on standby at Lucknow station, while eight regular trains will get an extra sleeper coach each during the specified period.To prevent overcrowding, railway authorities established a passenger holding area at Lucknow station’s Passenger Reservation System building and installed 26 temporary shelters on platforms. A holding area accommodating 400 to 500 passengers is being developed at Varanasi Junction, while additional facilities with a capacity of 2,500 passengers each have been proposed at Ayodhya Dham and Ayodhya Cantt stations.Security arrangements include surveillance through 386 CCTV cameras across Lucknow, Varanasi Junction and Ayodhya Dham stations. Railway Protection Force will deploy 45 personnel per shift each at Lucknow and Varanasi Junction, and 17 at Ayodhya Dham.A divisional war room will monitor crowd movement round the clock, with RPF, GRP and commercial department personnel coordinating passenger management.
