The South-Central Railway (SCR) is operating over 850 special trains to manage additional passenger rush during the festive season of Deepawali and Chatt Puja. It also made elaborate arrangements to manage the crowd and ensure the safety of passengers during the festive season. SCR officials have announced elaborate arrangements to manage the crowd and ensure the safety of passengers. A release stated that special cells have been set up at the command-and-control centres at major railway stations like Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Kachiguda, Vijayawada, and Tirupati to help them monitor the crowd and ensure the punctuality of train services around the clock.

Additionally, the SCR authorities have made arrangements to add extra coaches to existing trains to ferry more passengers. Besides, they have set up additional ticket-booking counters, help desks, and deployed more sanitation staff and ticket-checking staff to handle the crowd at stations. SCR has also formed special teams to prevent ticketless travel.

Catering stalls at the stations have also been instructed to stock up on food items to meet the additional demand during this festive period. They have also worked together with IRCTC to ensure adequate onboard catering.

Keeping the festive rush in view, the authorities have also strengthened the deployment of the Railway Protection Force and the Government Railway Police (GRP) at major stations. Our correspondent says, patrolling has been intensified on the platforms, circulating areas, and running trains for passenger safety and security. CCTV monitoring has also been amplified to keep an eye on suspicious movements.