New Delhi, March 21 (IANS): Indian Railways is running 540 train services to clear the rush of passengers in the ongoing Holi festive season, the Ministry of Railways said on Thursday.

Trains have been planned to connect major destinations across the country on railway routes like Delhi- Patna, Delhi- Bhagalpur, Delhi-Muzaffarpur, Delhi-Saharsa, Gorakhpur- Mumbai, Kolkata-Puri, Guwahati- Ranchi, New Delhi- Sri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra, Jaipur- Bandra Terminus, Pune- Danapur, Durg-Patna, Barauni-Surat, etc.

As many as 219 more services have been added for this festive season compared to last year, according to the official statement.

Crowd controlling measures by forming queues at the terminus stations under the supervision of Railway Protection Force (RPF) staff for orderly entry of passengers in unreserved coaches is being ensured.

Additional RPF personnel have been deployed at major stations to ensure security of passengers. Officers are deployed on emergency duty at major stations to ensure smooth running of trains. Staff are deployed in various sections to attend any disruption of train service on priority. Measures have also been taken for frequent and timely announcement of arrival/departure of trains with platform numbers, the statement added.