The Indian Railways has announced an additional 102 special train services to tackle the huge rush of passengers during Durga Puja, Diwali and Chhath Puja. The services will connect major cities with states such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Railways is also adding extra coaches to multiple regular trains, increasing the number of available seats and reducing long waiting lists.
Here is a look at the special trains announced for the festive season and the routes they will cover.
The special trains will run in the months of October and November. Among them are 01905/01906 Kanpur Central-Asarva, 01907/01908 Agra Cantt-Udhna, and 01909/01910 Asarva-Agra Cantt.
The railways has also announced services such as 02199/02200 VGL Jhansi-Bandra Terminus and 04105/04106 Prayagraj-Udhna. Passengers travelling towards Gujarat and Maharashtra will also get options such as 04119/04120 Subedarganj-Valsad, 04139/04140 Prayagraj-Dadar, 04155/04156 Subedarganj-Udhna, and 04169/04170 Subedarganj-Indore.
Also Read: Delhi To Mumbai In 12 Hours? Railways Targets Trains Running At 160 Kmph Under Mission Raftaar
For longer journeys, 04173/04174 Prayagraj-Veraval and additional 04103/04104 Subedarganj-Panvel services will also operate.
The services planned between Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal are 02417/02418 Prayagraj-Shakur Basti, which will run daily before shifting to a four day a week schedule. The railways will also operate 04163/04164 Narayanpur Bazar-Shakur Basti three times a week between October and December.
Passengers travelling between Bihar and West Bengal will have more choices through trains such as 03041/03042 and 03043/03044 Howrah-Raxaul, 03135/03136 Sealdah-Patna, and 03133/03134 Sealdah-Sitamarhi.
Other services include 03131/03132 Sealdah-Gorakhpur, 03185/03186 and 03187/03188 Kolkata-Madhubani, and 03511/03512 Asansol-Patna. 04008/04007 Anand Vihar Terminal-Jogbani will make five trips in each direction, with 20 coaches.
The railway will also run 09601/09602 Madar Junction-Patna Junction as additional services. Meanwhile, the existing 03465/03466 Malda Town-Digha and 03527/03528 Asansol-Gorakhpur services will add more options for passengers.
The 03407/03408 Bhagalpur-Katihar service has also been extended for daily operations until November 30.
Passengers travelling towards Assam and the Northeast will also get additional trains. These include 03005/03006 Howrah-Lumding, which will have General, Sleeper and AC coaches.
The railway will also run 03129/03130 Kolkata-New Jalpaiguri on weekends, with General, Sleeper and AC coaches.
Other services include 08047/08048 Santragachi-Naharlagun, running three additional trips in September, and 04127/04128 Kanpur Central-Guwahati, which will operate from September to December. The 05932/05931 Dibrugarh-Kolkata service will also get 13 additional trips, with 22 coaches.
The festive arrangements also cover important southern routes. 08581/08582 Visakhapatnam-SMVT Bengaluru will make additional trips between October and November. The railway will also operate 08045/08046 Shalimar-Charlapalli with 24 coaches, including AC, Sleeper and General coaches. On the Hyderabad side, 07035/07036 Secunderabad-Sirpur Kaghaznagar will run as festival rush specials.
Also Read: For Rs 15,800, Indian Railways Will Take You To 7 Famous South Indian Pilgrimage Sites
Other services include 07097/07098 Hyderabad-Mangaluru Central, 04131/04132 Kanpur Central-SMVT Bengaluru, and 08311/08312 Sambalpur-Podanur.
01925/01926 Kanpur Central-Madurai will run weekly between September and November, while 09424/09423 Ahmedabad-Mangaluru Junction will also operate weekly. The railway has also announced 09189/09190 Mumbai Central-Katihar as additional services during September, October and November.
The festive plan is not limited to new special trains. Railways will also increase capacity on some existing services by adding coaches. For example, 06028/06027 Podanur-Dr MGR Chennai Central will get one additional AC Chair Car and one Chair Car in both directions from September 11. The railway has also planned additional coach capacity on services such as 04103/04104 Subedarganj-Panvel, which will have 22 LHB coaches.
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
