Special train services to continue

Despite the special trains to rescue tourists from flood hit Uttarakhand not bringing significant number of passengers, the Railways on Thursday have decided to continue the rescue plans with the hope that it would be prepared to handle any surging crowd in future.

Railways on Thursday ran special trains to Ambala, Delhi and Lucknow from Rishikesh, Haridwar and Dehradun, but very few passengers boarded these trains.

Railway sources said that new minister Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday reviewed the steps taken by the ministry in a meeting with top officials at Rail Bhavan. Northern Railways has been entrusted to implement the elaborate rescue and evacuation plan prepared by the ministry.

“In addition to running special trains, we are sending extra racks. Whenever there is a need to deploy a train for a particular destination, we can decide that without difficulty,” said a top official.

“Our special trains are carrying very few passengers as people are stranded in areas which have become inaccessible. We are also not aware of the profile passengers -where they want to go,” the official added. 

Deploying senior officers at important places including Haridwar, Rishikesh, Dehradun and New Delhi is one of the steps taken by the Railways as part of the rescue efforts.
The officers will coordinate with state authorities and manage despatching of passengers by train.