Central Railway Operates 100 Trains for Ashadhi Wari, Over 1.13 Lakh Devotees Travel via Pandharpur Station
Pandharpur, 28th July 2026: Central Railway operated 100 regular and special trains during the three main days of Ashadhi Wari 2026, facilitating the movement of more than 1.13 lakh devotees through Pandharpur Railway Station between July 24 and 26.
According to Central Railway, a total of 1,13,197 passengers travelled through Pandharpur Railway Station during the three-day period, compared to 1,10,066 passengers during the corresponding period last year. Originating passenger revenue also increased by 20 per cent, reaching ₹1.27 crore against ₹1.07 crore recorded last year.
To manage the festival rush, 35 trains were operated on July 24, 34 trains on July 25 and 31 trains on July 26. The services included both regular and special trains running on the single-line section connecting Pandharpur.
For ticketing, five additional booking counters were opened at the station. The railway also deployed five Automatic Ticket Vending Machines (ATVMs) and 10 Mobile Unreserved Ticketing System (MUTS) devices based on passenger demand, while encouraging passengers to use the RailOne mobile application for ticket bookings.
Extensive crowd management measures were implemented, including barricading and regulated queue systems across the station premises. The three-metre-wide foot overbridge area was specially barricaded to streamline the movement of arriving and departing passengers.
Passenger amenities were expanded with waterproof permanent holding areas covering 12,330 square metres in the old and new station buildings. An additional 1,320 square metres of holding space was created this year, while another 3,000 square metres of covered area was developed over the existing goods shed for future capacity enhancement.
Sanitation facilities were strengthened with the addition of 104 temporary toilets, taking the total number of toilets available at the station to 188. Round-the-clock housekeeping, waste disposal and drainage management were carried out with contractual staff deployed during peak days.
Temporary accommodation was arranged for approximately 480 personnel deployed on festival duty, including commercial staff, Railway Protection Force (RPF), Government Railway Police (GRP), Civil Defence personnel and staff from other railway departments.
A Command and Control Centre integrated with 80 CCTV cameras monitored station operations throughout the festival. Passenger information was disseminated through five video walls, train indication boards and public announcement systems in Hindi, English, Marathi and Kannada.
Medical services were provided through the station health unit, additional medical booths and a 24-hour ambulance service. A medical team comprising doctors, nursing staff, pharmacists, dressers and hospital attendants treated 1,219 devotees during the festival period.
Before train departures, teams comprising ticket-checking staff, RPF personnel and Civil Defence volunteers conducted door-closing checks to ensure safe boarding and deboarding. Four scratch rakes were also positioned under guaranteed operation to enable immediate deployment of additional special trains whenever required.
Various non-governmental organisations and charitable groups distributed free meals to nearly one lakh pilgrims during the Ashadhi Wari festival.
