Udhna Railway Station to get passenger holding area before Diwali festive rush

Surat: Migrant workers travelling to their hometowns for Diwali and Chhath Puja will get a dedicated passenger holding area at Udhna Railway Station ahead of the festive rush, with Western Railway General Manager (GM) Ramashray Pandey directing officials to make the facility operational before the festivals.

The holding area, being developed at the eastern end of Udhna station, is aimed at managing the sharp rise in passenger footfall during the festive season, particularly among passengers travelling to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Pandey arrived at Platform No. 4 of Surat Railway Station from Vadodara on a special coaching train at around 4:30 pm on Monday. He was accompanied by Mumbai Central Division DRM Pankaj Singh, Surat Station Director Shravan Meghwal and senior engineers from the Surat Integrated Transportation Development Corporation Limited (SITCO).

During his visit, the GM inspected various sections of the under-construction Surat Multi-Modal Transportation Hub (MMTH), which is being developed over an area of around 2.5 lakh square metres.

Officials informed him that around 51% of the civil work under Phase 1 of the project has been completed. Pandey also reviewed the blueprints for the proposed construction between platforms 1 and 2 and directed officials to double the pace of work to ensure that the overall project is completed by the scheduled deadline of December 2027.

The team later visited Udhna Railway Station, where the GM inspected the passenger holding area being developed by SITCO on the eastern side of the station.

Udhna witnesses a significant increase in passenger traffic during Diwali and Chhath Puja, particularly among migrant workers travelling to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Pandey directed officials to ensure that the holding area is made operational before the festive rush, regardless of the challenges involved.

He also stressed that passenger amenities, including adequate seating, clean drinking water, sanitation facilities and CCTV-based security, should be ensured at the facility. DeshGujarat