The 45-day Maha Kumbh Mela has kicked off in Prayagraj. Deemed the world’s largest gathering of humans, it is slated to end on February 26 with more than 40 million people expected to visit the grounds and take a dip in the Triveni Sangam—the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati rivers.
Sprawled across 4,000 hectares, there will be 40,000 police and security officials at the event to ensure the safety of pilgrims and visitors and 15,000 sanitation workers who will keep everything spick and span. Numerous flights and trains have been added to ease connectivity to Prayagraj. Here’s what you need to know.
Prayagraj Airport (IXD) has made significant advances since the last major iteration of the festival and even sought approval for international flights in October 2024. SpiceJet will operate 35 weekly flights to Prayagraj, up from its current tally of zero. This will include daily flights from Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Alliance Air, which currently runs Delhi-Prayagraj flights, has also added routes ahead of the festival. It will now connect the city to Bhubaneswar, Guwahati, Chandigarh, Jaipur and Dehradun. IndiGo and Akasa Air have also indicated plans to augment their capacity.
Meanwhile, Indian Railways has plans to operate approximately 13,000 trains over the next 50 days. This includes around 10,000 regular and 3,000 special trains. The IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation) has set up a temporary “tent city” in Prayagraj, providing accommodation for travellers. Medical booths and small hospitals have been established at all major stations, with trained medical personnel available round-the-clock to provide first aid and address serious health issues.
The first special train from Katra in Jammu and Kashmir has been finalised for January 24. It will leave the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra railway station (SVDK) for Prayagraj and return from Prayagraj to Katra on January 26.
Western Railway: 98 special trains have been introduced, focusing on passenger convenience, hygiene and the proper functioning of electric appliances. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) officers have been deployed to escort travellers from designated areas to their trains in a systematic manner.
From Una to Prayagraj: From January 17 to February 23, railways will run special trains, with stops at Nangal Dam, Anandpur Sahib, Roop Nagar, Morinda, Chandigarh, Ambala Cantt, Yamunanagar Jagadhri, Saharanpur, Roorkee, Najibabad, Moradabad, Bareilly, Shahjahanpur, Lucknow and Rae Bareli. These trains will have 18 coaches, including sleepers, generals and AC three-tier coaches. The fare for sleeper coaches is INR 620, and for AC three-tier coaches is INR 1,670.
From Jaynagar to Jhusi: The North Eastern Railway (NER) special train (05285/05286) will make four trips from Jaynagar on January 10, 24, 31, February 1 and March 1. It will halt at important stations, including Madhubani, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur and Varanasi. A series of special trains will operate from Guntur to Azamgarh and Moula Ali to Gaya, departing on January 24, 18, 20 and other specific dates.
Ring rail route services: This will run on the Prayagraj-Ayodhya-Varanasi-Prayagraj route, the Prayagraj-Sangam Prayag-Jaunpur-Prayag-Prayagraj circuit, the Govindpuri-Prayagraj-Chitrakoot-Govindpuri route and the Jhansi-Govindpuri-Prayagraj-Manikpur-Chitrakoot-Jhansi route.
(With inputs from multiple sources)
