Increase in passenger numbers travelling from Pune station

From the beginning of this month, there has been a considerable increase in the number of passengers travelling from the Pune railway station to the rest of the country. Due to the strict restrictions imposed in the state, thousands of labourers have been returning back to their home states.

Four trains running at capacity, 1,400 passengers each, are weekly special trainsto different cities like Gorakhpur and Lucknow.

According to information given by the Pune railway division, prior to the current lockdown, in February, daily, 25,000 passengers would travel from Pune railway station, on an average of 25 to 30 trains. This number has now doubled and daily, 50,000 passengers travel from Pune railway station, with over 49 train operations.

“The train operations and passengers travelling from Pune railway station have increased drastically in the last one month which has almost doubled compared to February and March. Some of the trains originating from Pune are running over occupancy and have a daily waiting list of passengers. Without confirmed tickets and thermal checking, passengers are not allowed to travel from the Pune railway station,” said Manoj Jhawar, Pune railway division spokesperson.

Meanwhile, there are also some trains which are cancelled due to poor occupancy . These trains include the Pune-Nagpur weekly special train, Pune-Ajni weekly special train, Pune-Amravati weekly special and Kolhapur-Nagpur bi-weekly special.

All these trains are originating from Pune railway; due to occupancy of less than 15 per cent, these trains have been cancelled by the railways.

“As there is a heavy rush of passengers going towards the north and Northeast India, there are several new special trains operating from Pune,” Jhawar added.

BOX

Daily trains operating in the month of February, 2021 - 25 to 30

Daily trains operating in the month of April, 2021 - 45 to 50

Daily number of passengers daily travelling from Pune railway station in February - 25,000

Daily number of passengers daily travelling from Pune railway station in April - above 50,000