NEW DELHI: The Indian Railways (IR) on Tuesday said 1,700 special trains are being run across the country and special arrangements made at railway stations for the convenience of passengers travelling during the festive season.

The railways added that 2.6 million berths are made available this festive season which it said was a “record number”.

“Elaborate crowd control arrangements are made at all major and important railway stations, where the huge crowds are predicted to reach for travelling to various destinations for celebrating festivals. Senior officers are stationed at these stations to monitor all the activities to regulate the crowd in a systematic manner,” the railways said in a statement.

It also said that the Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF) staff are deployed at foot-over bridges to regulate crowds smoothly in order to avoid stampede-like situations during the heavy rush period.

The statement comes against the backdrop of criticism after one person was killed and three others injured at Surat railway station on Sunday.

On 10 November, a huge rush was also witnessed at Anand Vihar- Kaushambi on Delhi-UP border near the Anand Vihar railway station and inter-state bus terminal.

The national transporter said that skilled RPF staff are deployed in CCTV control rooms to keep a close watch on the crowded areas and render real time assistance to passengers.

“We have adopted a queue system for entering into general coaches at the originating stations,” a railways official said.

“We have ensured proper announcement regarding trains/ coaches well in time so that passengers are made aware of the location of General Coaches and the platform from where the trains will depart,” he added.

Mixed escorts are deployed in important trains for rendering real time assistance especially to lady passengers travelling in long distance trains, he concluded.