Surat: Western Railway operated eight Holi special trains from Udhna railway station on Sunday, recording the highest single-day passenger turnout from Surat, as nearly 20,000 people travelled to their native places for the festival.

Comprehensive arrangements were made to ensure smooth passenger movement and to prevent overcrowding or any stampede-like situations.

The first special service, the Udhna–Jayanagar train, departed at 3.30 am with nearly 4,000 passengers on board. Additional special trains were operated to destinations including Jayanagar, Hasanpur, Thave, Brahmpur and Raxaul, mainly catering to travellers heading to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

To manage the rush, Western Railway set up a dedicated holding area with a capacity of 4,000 passengers at a time, along with a temporary tented zone to accommodate the overflow.

Security was significantly strengthened, with over 250 personnel from the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) deployed for crowd management and passenger safety. To ease ticketing, four additional booking counters were opened and Mobile UTS services were enhanced. DeshGujarat