Indian Railways is expanding train services ahead of the upcoming Durga Puja, Diwali and Chhath Puja season, announcing 102 additional special train services to accommodate the expected surge in passenger demand.
The additional services will connect major cities with several states, including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Railways is also increasing capacity on selected regular trains by adding coaches, with the aim of providing more seats and easing waiting-list pressure.
Special Trains to Operate Across Key Routes
The newly announced services will operate across September, October and November, covering several important intercity and long-distance routes.
Among the services announced are 01905/01906 Kanpur Central–Asarva, 01907/01908 Agra Cantt–Udhna and 01909/01910 Asarva–Agra Cantt.
Passengers travelling towards Gujarat and Maharashtra will have additional options through trains including 02199/02200 VGL Jhansi–Bandra Terminus, 04105/04106 Prayagraj–Udhna, 04119/04120 Subedarganj–Valsad, 04139/04140 Prayagraj–Dadar and 04155/04156 Subedarganj–Udhna.
Other long-distance services include 04169/04170 Subedarganj–Indore, 04173/04174 Prayagraj–Veraval and additional 04103/04104 Subedarganj–Panvel services.
More Trains for Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal
Several services have been planned to strengthen connectivity between Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal during the festive period.
The 02417/02418 Prayagraj–Shakur Basti service will initially operate daily before moving to a four-days-a-week schedule. The 04163/04164 Narayanpur Bazar–Shakur Basti service will run three times a week between October and December.
Additional connectivity between Bihar and West Bengal will come through services such as 03041/03042 and 03043/03044 Howrah–Raxaul, 03135/03136 Sealdah–Patna and 03133/03134 Sealdah–Sitamarhi.
Railways will also operate 03131/03132 Sealdah–Gorakhpur, 03185/03186 and 03187/03188 Kolkata–Madhubani, and 03511/03512 Asansol–Patna.
The 04008/04007 Anand Vihar Terminal–Jogbani service is scheduled to make five trips in each direction with 20 coaches.
Additional Services for Bihar and Eastern India
The festive programme also includes additional 09601/09602 Madar Junction–Patna Junction services.
Existing services such as 03465/03466 Malda Town–Digha and 03527/03528 Asansol–Gorakhpur will provide additional travel options. The 03407/03408 Bhagalpur–Katihar service has also been extended to operate daily until November 30.
Northeast to Get More Festival Connectivity
Passengers travelling towards Assam and the Northeast will also have additional services during the busy travel period.
The 03005/03006 Howrah–Lumding service will operate with General, Sleeper and AC coaches. The 03129/03130 Kolkata–New Jalpaiguri service will run on weekends.
Other services include 08047/08048 Santragachi–Naharlagun, which will make three additional trips in September, and 04127/04128 Kanpur Central–Guwahati, scheduled to operate from September through December.
The 05932/05931 Dibrugarh–Kolkata service will also receive 13 additional trips and will operate with 22 coaches.
Southern Routes Also Covered
Railways’ festive arrangements extend to several important southern corridors.
The 08581/08582 Visakhapatnam–SMVT Bengaluru service will make additional trips during October and November. The 08045/08046 Shalimar–Charlapalli service will operate with 24 coaches, including AC, Sleeper and General classes.
Festival rush specials will also operate on the 07035/07036 Secunderabad–Sirpur Kaghaznagar route.
Other services announced include 07097/07098 Hyderabad–Mangaluru Central, 04131/04132 Kanpur Central–SMVT Bengaluru and 08311/08312 Sambalpur–Podanur.
The 01925/01926 Kanpur Central–Madurai service will run weekly between September and November, while 09424/09423 Ahmedabad–Mangaluru Junction will also operate weekly.
The 09189/09190 Mumbai Central–Katihar service has been announced as an additional service for September, October and November.
Existing Trains to Get Extra Coaches
The festive capacity expansion will not depend solely on new special trains. Indian Railways is also adding coaches to selected existing services.
For instance, 06028/06027 Podanur–Dr MGR Chennai Central will receive one additional AC Chair Car and one Chair Car in both directions from September 11.
Similarly, 04103/04104 Subedarganj–Panvel will operate with 22 LHB coaches.
More Options for Festival Travellers
With additional services spread across major routes, Indian Railways’ festive timetable is designed to provide passengers with more travel options during one of the busiest periods of the year. The combination of special trains and additional coaches on regular services is expected to expand available capacity and help passengers travelling for Durga Puja, Diwali and Chhath Puja.
