The Indian Railways on Saturday announced 84 special trains, set to make 104 trips, to help people facing travel disruptions due to the mass flight cancellations by IndiGo.
According to the Railway Ministry, the trains were arranged “in the shortest possible time” after assessing passenger traffic in major hubs including New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Patna and Howrah.
Officials said the number of special services may increase depending on demand.
“All zones have been instructed to utilise every available resource, rolling stock and manpower to safely operate these trains for the convenience of passengers hit by the cancellations,” said Dilip Kumar, Executive Director (Information & Publicity), Railway Board.
Railway divisions have also begun circulating information at airports to assist stranded flyers.
The South Eastern Railway has coordinated with the Airport Authority to publicise the special services, while other zones have issued similar notifications.
The Western Railway will operate seven special trains on special fares, covering routes such as Mumbai Central–New Delhi, Mumbai Central–Bhiwani, Mumbai Central–Shakur Basti, Bandra Terminus–Durgapura, Valsad–Bilaspur, Sabarmati–Delhi, and Sabarmati–Delhi Sarai Rohilla.
The South Central Railway announced four special trains to handle the spike in last-minute travellers, while the Central and Northern Railways have planned 14 and 10 services respectively, with more under consideration.
For at least five days in a row, IndiGo flight operations have significantly disrupted, with a large number of cancellations and delays causing hardships to thousands of passengers.
(With inputs from PTI)