The railways has the colossal task of handling an estimated 1.45 crore passengers during the 45-day Maha Kumbh beginning Jan 13.
To cater to the needs of passengers, the railways has invested approximately Rs 3,700 crore in improving and building new infrastructure in Prayagraj which includes 21 ROBs/RUBs, 48 platforms, passenger holding areas surrounding the railway stations, circulating area with dividers, vehicle parking area, pathways, and improved façade of station building.

More than 8,000 railway staff have been roped in from other divisions to streamline passenger movement, improve amenities like sleeping pods, waiting room, retiring room, dormitory, executive lounge, battery operated cars for elderly and disabled passengers, wheelchairs, medical observation rooms, virtual crowd monitoring system, and modern ticketing systems.
Railway to run 13,000 trains
More than 13,000 trains will serve the devotees. A total of 3,134 special trains will be operated in addition to 10,100 regular trains.
Read more: Maha Kumbh Mela 2025
In the 2019 Ardh Kumbh, 5,694 trains were operated.
A total of 23 pairs, that is 46 trains, have been given additional stoppages at Prayagraj Junction and Naini Junction stations during the Mela period.
A plan has been prepared to run fast MEMU ring rail service for the convenience of pilgrims wishing to visit Ayodhya, Kashi, Varanasi, Jhansi, and Chitrakoot Dham after attending the Kumbh.
Colour-coded shelters
Direction-wise colour-based holding areas (passenger enclosures) will be arranged for all the stations of Prayagraj district in accordance with the movement plan of pilgrims. These enclosures have a total holding capacity of over one lakh passengers.

Shelters have been commissioned at Prayagraj Junction (capacity of 22,000 passengers), Subedarganj (5,000), Naini Junction (22,000), Prayagraj Chheoki Junction (15,000), Prayag Junction (20,000), Phaphamau Junction (18,000), Prayagraj Rambagh (1,600) and Jhunsi (10,000).
Maha Kumbh yatri toll free number
The Maha Kumbh Yatri toll free number 1800 4199 139 is functional from Nov 1, 2024. It is operating round the clock with four operators per shift, and will become multilingual to cater to passengers speaking Odia, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Bengali and other languages.
Multilingual announcement system
Through a multilingual announcement system, travel information will be announced in 10-12 different languages at the station and in the Mela area for the devotees coming from different regions of India.

Languages will include Hindi, English, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, and Odia, among others.
Maha Kumbh rail sewa app & portal
The rail sewa app and portal gives a one-stop solution to all rail-related queries.
It will provide information about Mela special trains, passenger shelters, amenities and entry gates etc. along with direction wise train information.
Ticketing system
A total of 544 ticketing points, including UTS (unreserved ticketing system), ATVM (automatic ticket vending machine), MUTS (mobile unreserved ticketing system), enquiry and PRS (passenger reservation system) are being provided at nine railway stations in Prayagraj district as well as in the Mela area. All these counters can provide tickets to about 20 lakh passengers per day.

Indian Railways has also introduced QR-enabled jackets for ticket booking. Pilgrims need to spot a railway staff in fluorescent jackets that will have a QR code. After scanning the QR code through smartphones, the devotees will be directed to Google Play Store to download the UTS app. Through the app, the user can procure a ticket for any station.
The QR code will also be available in posters at all the railway facilities in the region besides the Mela area.
Medical observation rooms
MORs have been established at Prayagraj Junction, Prayag Junction, Subedarganj, Naini Junction, and Prayagraj Chheoki Junction.
MORS will have medical staff available 24×7, working in eight-hour shifts. Each MOR will have 15 nurses and housekeeping assistants and 12 pharmacists and hospital attendants each. Ambulances will be available at all stations.
Fire audit of all nine stations
Fire audit of all nine stations has been carried out. Apart from this, proper fire-fighting arrangements are being made at all places. These include fire extinguishers, fire balls, water hydrants, buckets with water/sand, as well as fire tenders.
Security preparedness
Apart from deployment of additional staff, RPF dog squads will be deployed to detect any suspicious person/object and conduct search operations at stations.
Virtual eye for monitoring
A total of 1,186 CCTV cameras with live footage will be available in CCTV control rooms to monitor and keep tabs on crowd management. Out of these, about 116 cameras have AI-based face recognition systems to identify miscreants and anti-social elements. Railways has also introduced video analytics-based FRS cameras.

Drone cameras and body-worn cameras will help in crowd surveillance and tracking
Gaming zone at prayagraj junction
Railways has introduced a gaming zone to enhance passengers’ travel experience. The facility is available at platform number 6 on the Civil Lines side of Prayagraj Junction. This state-of-the-art facility will include high-end attractions such as a VR cricket box, motion theatre, PC games, arcade games, jungle safari, air hockey, and VR experiences. Passengers can enjoy various entertainment options, from classic games to cutting-edge arcade experiences.
Key projects