Bengaluru, Oct 28: The South Western Railway (SWR) has implemented measures to ensure smooth operations across the Hubballi, Mysuru, and Bengaluru divisions, in view of increased passenger traffic during the Deepavali festival, officials said on Monday.

A total of 55 trains are scheduled for the benefit of passengers during Deepavali and Chhath festive season, they said.

According to SWR officials, for regular trains extra coaches are also augmented based on the heavy waiting list trains to clear the rush.

Officers, Commercial staff and Scouts and Guides volunteers along with Security personnel are deployed during this rush hours to control the crowd at all major stations like, Hubballi, Dharwad, Belagavi, Vasco Da Gama, Gadag, Hosapete, Ballari, Vijayapura, Bagalkot, KSR Bengaluru, Yesvantpur, Mysuru, Tumakuru, Bengaluru Cantt., Mandya, Hassan, Davangere and other railway stations across SWR.

"Increased the presence of RPF (Railway Protection Force) to maintain order and security, especially during rush hours. Security was significantly enhanced with the installation of additional CCTV cameras and baggage scanners. Extra lighting and backup power supplies are also arranged to ensure safety during peak hours and to handle any potential technical disruptions," the SWR said in a statement.

Temporary help desks have been set up to assist passengers with ticketing, directions, and schedule information at all major stations of SWR, it said.

Among other measures -- additional ticketing counters have been provided to clear the extra rush, queue managers are deputed at booking counters and at the general coach entrances to ensure that passengers obtain ticket and board the train in orderly manner, first aid box availability and ensure medical staff are on standby in case of health emergencies due to crowd pressure. Medical booths along with

SWR will temporarily add additional AC 3-tier coaches to some trains, they added.

"Additional Ticket checking staff are being deployed at the stations so as to guide the passengers about the availability of the special trains. Additional signage/Time table boards were installed across all platforms to guide passengers efficiently to Foot Over Bridges (FOBs), escalators, restrooms, and platforms. This improved navigation and reduced confusion among the large crowd," the statement added.

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New Delhi/Amaravati (PTI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday said the state is taking steps to transform itself into a knowledge and creator economy hub with a strong focus on artificial intelligence and quantum technology. 

He noted that Andhra Pradesh has abundant tech-driven youth and the government is formulating plans to train them in futuristic technologies with support from global technology firms. 

"Our goal is to transform Andhra Pradesh into a knowledge hub by focusing on AI, quantum computing, data centres, drone cities and space cities. The youth will remain our biggest asset over the next 25 years, and we seek global partnerships to scale up the creator economy," said Naidu during his interactions at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi.

Naidu, who participated in the summit in the national capital, also held meetings with several global technology leaders and industrialists to explore collaborations in artificial intelligence, clean energy and innovation ecosystems. 

He met Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, Autodesk AI Head Mike Haley, Aramco India Director Abdul Rehman AiThukair, LEGO Education Vice President Tom Hall, Aadhaar Founder and CTO Srikanth Nadhamuni, Khosla Ventures Managing Partner Vinod Khosla and others at the AP Pavilion. 

The chief minister also held discussions with Saudi Aramco representatives on clean energy projects, including solar initiatives, and invited the company to expand operations in Andhra Pradesh, stating that the state is highly suitable for green energy production. 

He sought support from NVIDIA Vice President Callista Redmond for establishing AI Living Labs and proposed partnerships through the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub to promote youth innovation, including collaborations with IIT Tirupati and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati under the Andhra Pradesh Future Innovation and Research for Science and Technology (AP FIRST) initiative. 

Naidu urged Autodesk leadership to support the development of Global Capability Centres in design engineering and requested the establishment of an Innovation Academy in Amaravati aligned with quantum technology, besides proposing AI and robotics learning labs in partnership with LEGO Education. 

He also discussed AI-driven smart governance solutions with Quantela Inc Chairman Sridhar Gadhi, while World Bank Group Digital AI Regional Director Mahesh Uttamchandani met Naidu on the sidelines of the summit. 

Following the meetings, Naidu visited various exhibition stalls at the summit, including those of NVIDIA, Tata, Intel and Microsoft, and reviewed AI applications across agriculture, healthcare and industry.