Diwali, Chhath Puja Festive Rush Leads To Higher Train Fares, Waiting Lists Run Into Hundreds

As Diwali and Chhath Puja inch closer, train travel has become increasingly difficult for passengers preparing to return home during the festive season. Finding a confirmed seat on regular trains to Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Ayodhya, Bihar, and West Bengal has become a challenge. 

While the Indian Railways has introduced several special trains across the country due to the holiday rush, passengers still find it difficult to get a seat. Even when they find empty seats, fares are 1.5 times higher than regular train fares. 

According to reports, people travelling from major metropolitan cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru are facing difficulties due to long waiting lists on several special trains while tickets remain unavailable for certain dates. 

Special Train Fares Higher Than Regular Services 

While the Northern Railway has planned more than 6,200 special train trips during the festive season to ease the pressure on regular trains, the fares remain significantly higher. For example, the third AC fare from Moradabad to Patna is Rs 1,215 on a regular train, while the special train fare is Rs 1,545. 

Similarly, sleeper fares from Moradabad are Rs 455 and Rs 545 on a special train, as per Jagran reports.

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To go from Moradabad to Varanasi, the fare of third AC of Kumbh Express is Rs 1,155, Amritsar-Howrah Mail is Rs 985, Dehradun-Varanasi Express is Rs 1,000 and Begumpura Express is Rs 1,015. The third AC fare for the Delhi-Varanasi Special and the Firozpur Cantt-Patna Special is Rs 1,270. Despite such higher fares on the special trains, there is no guarantee that passengers will get confirmed seats. 

Festive Rush Leaves Trains To Bihar And Jharkhand Overbooked 

According to ETV Bharat, on the New Delhi-Ranchi Garib Rath Express arriving from Delhi, the waiting list exceeds 200 for dates between November 3 and November 15. 

For the Anand Vihar-Hatia Express, waiting lists range from 10 to 112 across various classes between November 3 and November 17. For some dates, there are no bookings available.

On the Jharkhand Sampark Kranti Express, waiting lists for November 4, 7, 11, and 14 exceed 100 in the sleeper class and have reached 86 in the third AC class.

Travellers who have to come from Bengaluru are getting no relief either. On the Bengaluru-Hatia Express, the waiting list for Third AC has reached up to 125, while for the sleeper class, it exceeds 100 on certain dates.

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The other regular train on the route, the Bengaluru-Hatia Express, also has long waiting lists for several dates in November. The Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Express from Mumbai to Hatia is fully booked across all classes for many dates.

Demand for seats on trains heading to Bihar between November 9 and 12, coinciding with Chhath Puja, has also surged. On Maurya Express, Hatia-Islampur Express, and Pataliputra Express, there are long waiting lists across various classes, while for some dates tickets are unavailable.