It’s that time of the year again when Mumbai’s major railway stations turn into sprawling camp grounds. With families spread out on floors, bundles of luggage doubling up as pillows, and food packets being shared over newspapers, the festive special season has transformed Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT), Dadar, Kalyan, Mumbai Central and Bandra Terminus into makeshift tent towns on rails.

“As lakhs of passengers prepare to head home for Diwali and Chhath Puja, Central Railway (CR) has rolled out 1198 special trains to tackle the rush. Our people are monitoring everywhere and arranged additional services. We have created holding areas at Mumbai CSMT, Kurla LTT, Dadar, and Kalyan,” CR General Manager Vijay Kumar said.