Western Railway restricts platform ticket sales at 4 stations ahead of Diwali and Chhath

Western Railway’s has temporarily restricted the sale of platform tickets on four of its major stations in order to reduce overcrowding in the upcoming festive season, said railway officials to PTI. The decision has been taken to avoid a repeat of last year’s mishap. The ticket sale restrictions will be in effect from October 15 to 31 at the Bandra Terminus in Mumbai, and Vapi, Udhna and Surat stations in Gujarat, a WR release said on Monday.

According to the release, exemptions will be made in genuine cases, including individuals assisting senior citizens, women passengers, specially-abled persons (divyanjan), illiterate individuals, or those in need of special care.

Notably, during the festive travel season in October last year, nine passengers were injured in a stampede after rushing to board a train at Bandra railway station in Mumbai.


Western Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Vineet Abhishek stated that the move is intended to ensure safe and smooth passenger movement within station premises during the expected festive crowd.

Passengers have been urged to plan their travel accordingly and extend full cooperation to railway staff to support safe and effective crowd management.

Delhi to Patna: Special Vande Bharat train for Chhaht

Northern Railway will run a special Vande Bharat train between New Delhi and Patna from October 11 to November 15 to manage increased passenger traffic during the festive season, as per an official statement.

“The Railways have decided to run Vande Bharat festival special trains to facilitate the travel of passengers during ensuing festivals,” said Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay, Chief Public Relations Officer of Northern Railway, as quoted by PTI.

The train, numbered 02252, will operate every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday, completing 16 trips in total. It will depart New Delhi at 8:35 am and arrive in Patna at 9:30 pm the same day, with stops at Aligarh, Kanpur Central, Prayagraj, Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, Buxar, and Ara.

Officials said the special Vande Bharat train will have 16 air-conditioned coaches, including two executive class coaches, with a total seating capacity of 1,128 passengers.

(With inputs from PTI)