New train terminal at Prayag ghat to ease Kumbh Mela crowd

Lucknow: Railways would set up a new train terminal at Prayag ghat adjacent to Allahabad city to manage unprecedented crowd during Kumbh Mela after a stampede in 2013 left 36 pilgrims dead.

"A new terminal is being developed at Prayag ghat just adjacent to the Allahabad city in order to ease passenger pressure from the main station not only during the pressing days of Kumbh and Magh Mela but also otherwise," DRM Northern Railway Anil Kumar Lahoti told PTI.

The pressure of passengers is on rise on this section of the Railways and not only the Kumbh but the Magh Mela which is an annual affair sees surging crowd of devotees, he said.

"This new terminal will ease the traffic flow to Allahabad and make train journey easy," Lahoti said.

"The new terminal will have all modern facilities...The first phase has already been sanctioned and all the work will be conducted on fast track mode," Lahoti said, adding it will have five platforms.

The DRM said a big problem faced by railway stations today is late trains and trains being halted at the outer signal because of occupied platforms.

There is also a need to remodel old train yards which has been taken up on priority basis at busy stations like Lucknow, Varanasi and Faizabad.

"While trains used to earlier have only 14 bogies and yards were built for them but now the number of bogies have gone up to 22 or even 24 and the old yards are inadequate in the present context," he added.