New Delhi, Oct 25 (IANS) Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday said nearly 1.5 crore train passengers have travelled so far in this festive season, adding that over 2.5 crore passengers are likely to travel by the end of the festival season.

Vaishnaw informed that big holding areas have been set up at 30 railway stations for smoother crowd management.

Speaking to reporters here, the minister further said that during former Railways Minister Lalu Prasad’s tenure, 178 special trains were run during the Diwali and Chhath festival, which have now increased to over 13,000 — a massive jump.

The safety has also increased, and the number of accidents has reduced from over 170 in 2014 to just 31 in 2024-25, and “we aim to reduce it further and make it safer.”

According to Vaishnaw, rail track construction has risen from 400-600 kilometres per year to over 4,000 per year.

The Indian Railways is also gearing up for the safe and comfortable return journey of passengers after the Chhath Puja festivities. For October 28, 6,181 special trains have been notified to facilitate passengers returning to their workplaces after the festival season.

Around 30 stations in Bihar are gearing up for the festive rush with holding areas, additional ticket counters, CCTV surveillance, and other passenger-friendly arrangements. Moreover, Railways has set up 24×7 medical booths at Patna, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Gaya, and Saharsa with fire brigade and ambulance services on standby for prompt passenger health assistance and safety management.

The minister further said that more than 12 lakh Central Government employees have been onboarded on Zoho’s swadeshi digital suite.

“Chipsets for various applications, including CCTV, are being developed in India. Within two years, India is set to achieve complete domestic production of mobile phone components. The government will invest more than Rs 200 crore to develop energy-efficient microprocessors for high-performance computing, including servers,” said the minister.

–IANS

na/pgh