Indore (Madhya Pradesh): In the forthcoming Simhastha Kumbh to be held in Ujjain in 2028, over 1 crore devotees were likely to arrive by train, five times more the last Simhastha fair, said Railway Board chairman Satish Kimar here on Tuesday.
The Railways would operate 100 special trains daily. To ensure smooth operation of the trains during the mega congregation of the devotees, the Railways had geared up its preparations, he said.
Small railway stations were being upgraded to offer the best services and facilities to the devotees, he said.
Satish Kumar was on a special tour of the city to review the preparations being made in view of the Simhastha Fair 2028. Senior officials of the Western Railway, including GM AK Mishra, CEO construction Vineet Gupta, DRM Ratlam Ashwini Kumar, CPRO WR Vineet Abhishek and other officials were also present.
Satish Kumar said that in the last Simhastha, around 1 crore devotees reached Ujjain by all means of transport, including 20 lakh by train. This time five times more, i.e. 1 crore devotees were likely to reach Ujjain by train.
To offer ease to them, the railways would run 100 special trains. To house such a huge number of the devotees, the railway stations were being upgraded, including small stations like Laxmibai Nagar, Mhow and some other stations in Ujjain.
Kumar said that the main railway station of the city was being developed at a cost of ₹485 crore. Its construction was likely to start soon. It would be a 7-storied state-of-the-art building. Its complete construction may not be achieved before Simhastha, but it would be made operational in a phased manner.
Kumar reviewed various rail projects of Ratlam division in the conference hall of the construction department. The officials briefed about the progress of the projects through power point presentation, including Dahod- Indore new line, Mhow-Khandwa gauge conversion and Indore station redevelopment project. Later, he inspected the circulating area of platform number 1, 4, 5 and 6 of the city railway station and also reviewed the progress of redevelopment of Laxmibai Nagar railway station.
