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Hyderabad: The South Central Railway (SCR) ran more than 1,000 special trains between September 21 and October 20 to handle the heavy rush of passengers during the festive season.

“SCR operated over 1,010 regular and festival special trains between September 21 and October 20, which accounts for a 47 percent rise in operations. Last year, 684 trains were run. Around 4.8 crore passengers utilised the services during the period, which is 30 lakhs more than the previous year,” SCR general manager Sanjay Kumar Srivastava addressed media persons at Rail Nilayam, Secunderabad, on Tuesday.

He also revealed that 237 additional coaches were linked (rake attachment) to regular trains.

In addition, temporary stoppages were also provided at stations such as Lingampalli, Hitech City, Cherlapalli and Malkajgiri to reduce crowding at major terminals in Hyderabad, he added.

SCR implements extensive crowd management measures

To ensure smooth travel, SCR set up 26 special holding areas at major stations, with seating, lighting, drinking water and toilet facilities.

The GM also stated that CCTV surveillance was strengthened and monitored at station, zonal and railway board levels.

Extra booking counters were opened at busy stations such as Secunderabad, Vijayawada, Rajahmundry, Tirupati and Guntur. More staff from the RPF, GRP, ticket checking and maintenance teams were deployed to manage the rush.

War rooms and rail madad cells were also reinforced across divisions, while officials coordinated with IRCTC to ensure enough food and prevent overcharging.