January 01, 2007	Monday	Zilhaj 10, 1427

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LAHORE, Dec 31: Special trains run by the railway authorities to cater to the Eid rush seemed insufficient on Sunday, keeping in view the number of people gathered at the Lahore railway station to reach their home towns to celebrate the festival with their families.

Railway officials said in addition to the routine 100 or so trains to different destinations, three special ones left Lahore for Narowal, and one or two extra bogies had to be attached with every train to cater to the Eid rush.

Despite these arrangements, a number of people could not find space even to stand in the trains and had to opt for road transport to reach their respective destinations.

Some 100,000 or so people visit the Lahore railway station, the busiest in the country, daily on an average and the number considerably increases on weekends and before and after such holidays.

Most residents of other cities, especially government employees, had started leaving Lahore from Saturday noon.

A number of commuters told this reporter that they preferred going to their hometowns in trains because the road transporters always indulge in overcharging, besides misbehaving with passengers on occasions like Eid.

The sanitary conditions on all platforms were far from satisfactory.

The Eidul Azha operation of the Pakistan Railways began on Dec 28 with the departure of the first special train from Quetta for Rawalpindi.

Five special trains from Lahore, three each from Karachi Cantt and Narowal, two from Rawalpindi and one each from Quetta, Multan, Faisalabad and Peshawar were to take people to their hometowns during the five-day operation that would conclude on Jan 2, officials at railway headquarters said.

There would be no special train on Eid day when all other trains would operate according to the timetable, they said and added that one special train was operated on Dec 28, three on Dec 29, 11 on Dec 30, eight on Dec 31, while six would be run on Jan 2.

The railways police had intensified security arrangement on all entry points to the station.

Railway police officers said a master plan had been prepared to ensure passengers’ security. Women police commandoes would also travel in all trains, while the number of plainclothesmen has been increased at platforms, they said.

EID HOLIDAYS: The reservation offices of the Pakistan Railways will remain closed on Jan 1 on account of Eidul Azha, says an announcement on Sunday.

Tickets will be sold from 8am to 1:45pm on Jan 2 at these offices, which will observe their routine timing from Jan 3.