Fact Check: Special pilgrimage train plies from Hyderabad to Wadi, not West Bengal

Hyderabad: A video showing a train with a Mosque cut-out at the front and several banners with Urdu text is viral on social media.

NewsMeter received the video on WhatsApp with an inquiry about the train. The user suspected unusual activity at the Hyderabad railway station and enquired if the train was running from Hyderabad to West Bengal.

A Facebook user shared the video with the caption in Kannada. “Hyderabad to WB train today. The train goes from Hyderabad to West Bengal. Is it Pakistan or Hindustan? The central government and the state government are turning a blind eye? Similarly, will the government allow our Hindus to celebrate the Ganpati festival at the railway station?” reads its English translation. (Archive)

Several Twitter users shared the video with the claim that the train was plying from Hyderabad to West Bengal.

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the special trains were run by the government for the pilgrims travelling from Hyderabad to Wadi (Karnataka) and vice-versa on the 46th Anniversary Celebrations of Great Saint Hazrath Khwaja Syed Mohammed Badesha Quadri Chisthy Yamani.

We analysed the video minutely and came across a board on the train with text saying in Urdu “Urs Kadeer Mubarak”.

Taking a cue from this, we ran a keyword search and came across a video published on August 2, 2023, by a channel named ‘Ghosh’. The video is titled “46 URS-E-QUADEER HAZRAT KHWAJA SYED MOHAMMED BADSHAH QUADRI CHISHTI YAMANI QUADEER HALKATTA SHAREEF.”

The video carried the visual of the same train, and the engine number (13418) matches the engine number of the train in the viral video.

We again ran relevant keyword searches and came across the official notification of South Central Railway from July 27, 2023. To maintain the extra rush, four unreserved special trains were arranged on August 1 and August 2 from Hyderabad to Wadi and vice-versa for pilgrims attending the 46th Anniversary Celebrations of Urs– e–Shareef of Great Saint Hazrath Khwaja Syed Mohammed Badesha Quadri Chisthy Yamani at Halkatta Shareef near Wadi junction in Karnataka.

We also came across a YouTube video published on August 10, 2022, which shows a similar visual of a Mosque cutout in front of a train. The video is titled “SPECIAL TRAIN FOR URS-E-QUADEER HALKATTA SHAREEF ON 12 AUG FROM HYD RETURN TRAIN ON 14 AUG 10:30 AM.”

The above findings confirm that special trains are run by the railway every year to manage the extra rush of pilgrims travelling to Wadi to attend the Urs celebration. Hence, we conclude that the viral video shows the visual of the train plying from Hyderabad to Wadi in Karnataka and not West Bengal.