Prayagraj Magh Mela travel alert: Trains will be diverted at this station on these days, check details

He told The Indian Express that trains destined to Sangam railway station will now arrive at NR’s Phaphamau and Prayag junctions. Departures of these trains will be from Prayag junction, on days when operations are closed at Sangam railway station.

He further said the decision was taken to prevent chaos and divert the crowd to other stations, where arrangements have been made for arrival and departure of trains concerned. Devotees and passengers have been advised to check the schedule before planning their journey.

An aerial view of boats anchored at the Sangam on the eve of the Paush Purnima snan during the Magh Mela, in Prayagraj, Friday. PTI

Which trains will be affected?

Trains affected on these days, which will have no stop at the Sangam railway station, include eight passenger and four MEMU (short and medium distance) trains that go to and from Ayodhya, Jaunpur, Ghazipur and Kanpur Anwarganj railway stations.

Nine Express trains will terminate at Phaphamau and Prayag railway stations on snan days. These include:

-LKO-PYGS Intercity Express (14210)

-Ganga Gomti Express (14216)

-CNB-PYGS Express (14102)

-Saryu Express (14234)

-Manwar Sangam Express (14232)

-Unchahar Express (14218)

-Nauchandi Express (14242)

-BE-PYGS Express (14308)

-HW-PYGS Express (14230).

While PYGS is the code for Prayagraj Sangam railway station, CNB, BE and HW stand for Kanpur Central, Bareilly and Haridwar railway stations, respectively. All these trains originate from locations in Uttar Pradesh, except the one coming from Haridwar.

These trains — including the express, passenger and MEMU — will have departures at scheduled timings from Prayag junction.

Asked about passengers who may have booked tickets in advance and could face issues due to the decision, Tiwari said, “Passengers should not worry. They have been given the option to deboard at Phaphamau and Prayag junctions, which are located in Prayagraj. Those who are departing on these days can catch the train at Prayag junction. They will be duly informed about the change at the origin station and will be guided at Phaphamau and Prayag.”

Tiwari also advised passengers to verify the train status through the NTES app or dialing 139 before travel.

People arrive to take a holy dip on ‘Paush Purnima’, on the eve of the festival, which also marks the first day of ‘Magh Mela’, at Sangam, in Prayagraj, Friday. PTI

Extra stops planned

The Northern Central Railway (NCR), Prayagraj division, said there would be additional halts for trains at Prayag station to accommodate the surge in pilgrims and visitors. According to a statement, these special arrangements will be in effect from January 1 to February 20.

Under this plan, 22 trains will make an extra two-minute stop at Prayag Station.

-The list includes major long-distance services such as the Indore-Varanasi Superfast Express, Banda Terminal-Ghazipur City Express, Purva Express, Chennai Central-Chhapra Superfast Express and Anand Vihar Terminal-Ghazipur City Express.

-Several trains from Mumbai and Southern India will also have revised schedules which include Lokmanya Tilak-Gorakhpur Express, Lokmanya Tilak-Ayodhya Cantt Express, Yesvantpur-Lucknow Express, Godan Express and Chhapra Express.

-Day-time services include the Vande Bharat Express from Prayagraj to Gorakhpur and its return service from Gorakhpur to Prayagraj.

-Other trains such as Kamayani Express, Antyodaya Express, Gandhinagar Capital-Varanasi Express, and Okha-Varanasi Express will also have scheduled halts throughout the day and night.

NCR officials said these temporary changes aim to manage increased passenger flow efficiently while maintaining punctuality across the network.