Western Railway has pressed more than 70 special train trips into service to handle the festive surge during Diwali and Chhath Puja, with heightened security, dedicated holding areas, and round-the-clock CCTV surveillance activated at Ahmedabad, Sabarmati, and Asarva stations in Gujarat. The measures are designed to manage the annual outflow of passengers travelling to Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh.

Special Train Routes and Capacity Boost

The special services operating in November 2026 connect Ahmedabad and its satellite stations to a string of destinations across northern and eastern India. Routes include Sabarmati–Lalkuan, Asarva–Kanpur Central, Asarva–Agra Cantt, Ahmedabad–Darbhanga, Gandhidham–Bhagalpur, Sabarmati–Prayagraj, Ahmedabad–Malda Town, Ahmedabad–Rajgir, and several others. Additional coaches have also been attached to a number of regular trains to expand overall passenger capacity.

Divisional Railway Manager Ved Prakash noted that the arrangements factor in passengers on roughly 20 to 25 through-passing trains arriving from Rajkot and Bhuj and transiting through Ahmedabad and Sabarmati stations.

Security and Crowd Management Deployment

A joint plan covering passenger flow and crowd control has been drawn up by the railway administration, the Railway Protection Force (RPF), the Government Railway Police (GRP), and traffic police. A total of 110 additional RPF personnel have been deployed across the three stations — 55 at Ahmedabad, 40 at Sabarmati, and 15 at Asarva. An additional company of the Railway Protection Special Force (RPSF) has further been stationed at Ahmedabad station. RPF personnel in plain clothes have also been deployed to prevent crimes against passengers.

CCTV Surveillance and Holding Areas

Ahmedabad station currently operates 119 CCTV cameras, while Sabarmati station has 121. Staff are posted in CCTV control rooms on a round-the-clock basis. A proposal to install 60 additional cameras has been submitted to further strengthen surveillance.

Dedicated holding areas have been set up to seat passengers in an orderly manner before they are escorted to platforms in queues at the designated boarding time. Separate arrangements have been made for unreserved and reserved-ticket holders, with the reserved-passenger process — from station entry to platform access — streamlined to prevent bottlenecks.

Priority Access and Passenger Advisories

Women, persons with disabilities, senior citizens, and passengers travelling with children are being given priority access. Public address systems and loudhailers are being used to advise passengers against pushing or jostling, boarding train footboards while standing, and accepting food or beverages from strangers. Safety advisories for women and children during the journey are also being broadcast at regular intervals.

With the festive season at its peak, the full set of arrangements is expected to remain in place through the Chhath Puja period, after which Western Railway will assess whether services need to be further extended.