Diwali-Chhath Special Trains: Struggling to secure train tickets for your journey back home during Durga Puja, Diwali, or Chhath? Booking regular train tickets has become increasingly challenging, with tickets selling out quickly and long waitlists forming as soon as bookings open. Many passengers are left disappointed due to the high demand for tickets. To address this issue, the Railways has put in place significant measures to assist passengers traveling home for the festivals.

Indian Railways has introduced a plan to operate more than 100 special trains from October to December 2026. These special trains will connect various states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh. Additionally, some regular trains will be augmented with extra coaches and more trips.

Highlights of the additional train services:

– The Railways has published a list of 102 special trains scheduled to operate between October and December 2026, comprising separate services for up and down journeys. “Up” refers to trains departing from a specific station, while “down” signifies the return trip of the same train. The list includes new special train services and increased frequencies for existing trains. Furthermore, some trains will have extra coaches to accommodate the surge in passenger numbers.

– Several new services have been introduced from Prayagraj.

– Additional trips have been added to various trains to cater to the increased demand.

– Changes in timings have been made for certain train services.

The Railways has taken steps to alleviate the ticket booking challenges faced by passengers, especially on popular routes during the festive season.

Passengers traveling on the Prayagraj-Shakur Basti route will enjoy additional convenience. The 02417 Prayagraj-Shakur Basti and 02418 Shakur Basti-Prayagraj trains will operate 34 trips daily from September 11th to October 14th and 15th. Following this, these trains will run four days a week from October to December. The 04163 Narayanpur Bazar-Shakur Basti and 04164 Shakurr Basti-Narayanpur Bazar will run 27 trips each, three days a week, between October and December.

Special trains have been arranged for travelers heading to Bihar and Bengal:

– 03041 Howrah-Raxaul and 03042 Raxaul-Howrah will run 7 trips each from October 15-16 to November 26-27.
– 03043 Howrah-Raxaul and 03044 Raxaul-Howrah will run 7 trips each from October 17-18 to November 28-29.
– 03135 Sealdah-Patna and 03136 Patna-Sealdah will run 7 trips each from October 13 to November 24.
– 03133 Sealdah-Sitamarhi and 03134 Sitamarhi-Sealdah will run 7 trips each from October 16-17 to November 27-28.
– 03131 Sealdah-Gorakhpur and 03132 Gorakhpur-Sealdah will run 14 trips each from October 13-14 to November 26-27.
– 03185 Kolkata-Madhubani and 03186 Madhubani-Kolkata will run 7 trips each from October 13-14 to November 24-25. On the same route,
– 03187 Kolkata-Madhubani and 03188 Madhubani-Kolkata will run 7 trips each from October 16-17 to November 27-28.
– 03511 Asansol-Patna and 03512 Patna-Asansol will run 7 trips each from October 18 to November 29.
– 03527 Asansol-Gorakhpur and 03528 Gorakhpur-Asansol will run 7 trips each from October 16-17 to November 27-28.
– 03465 Malda Town-Digha and 03466 Digha-Malda Town will run 7 trips each from October 17-18 to November 28-29.
– 03005 Howrah-Lumding and 03006 Lumding-Howrah will run 7 trips each from October 16-17 to November 27-28, featuring general, sleeper, and AC coaches.
– 03129 Kolkata-New Jalpaiguri and 03130 New Jalpaiguri-Kolkata trains will run 14 trips each on weekends from October 17-18 to November 29-30, with general, sleeper, and AC coaches on board.
– 05060 Lalkuan-Kolkata and 05059 Kolkata-Lalkuan will run 8 trips each from October 8-10 to November 26-28, stopping at various stations in both directions.

Special trains for the Northeast are also available:

– 08047 Santragachi-Naharlagun will operate 3 additional trips on September 11, 18, and 25. 08048 Naharlagun-Santragachi will run 3 additional trips on September 12, 19, and 26.
– 04127 Kanpur Central-Guwahati and 04128 Guwahati-Kanpur Central will run 14 additional trips each from September 10-11 to December 10-11.
– 05932 Dibrugarh-Kolkata and 05931 Kolkata-Dibrugarh will run 13 additional trips each from September 5-7 to November 28-30, with 22 coaches.
– 05736 Katihar-Amritsar and 05735 Amritsar-Katihar will run 12 additional trips each from September 9-11 to November 25-27.

Routes to Mumbai, South, and Andhra Pradesh are included:

– 09189 Mumbai Central-Katihar and 09190 Katihar-Mumbai Central will run 7 additional trips each, with service dates specified.
– 03407 Bhagalpur-Katihar and 03408 Katihar-Bhagalpur trains will run daily from August 29 to November 30, with 94 extended trips in each direction.
– 08581 Visakhapatnam-SMVT Bengaluru and 08582 SMVT Bengaluru-Visakhapatnam will run nine additional trips each from October 2-3 to November 27-28, offering AC, sleeper, and general coaches.
– 08045 Shalimar-Charlapalli and 08046 Charlapalli-Shalimar will run nine additional trips each from October 2-3 to November 27-28, with 24 coaches including AC, sleeper, and general coaches.

Additionally, the 07035 Secunderabad-Sirpur Kaghaznagar Festival Rush Special and the 07036 Sirpur Kaghaznagar-Hyderabad Deccan services will be operated by South Central Railway, with specific departure and arrival times.

Lastly, the 04008 Anand Vihar Terminal-Jogbani and 04007 Jogbani-Anand Vihar Terminal trains will run five trips each from October 10-11 to November 7-8, traversing through various cities. The 07097 Hyderabad-Mangaluru Central and 07098 Mangaluru Central-Hyderabad will run 12 additional trips each from September 9-10 to November 25-26.

The 04131 Kanpur Central-SMVT Bengaluru train will run every Sunday, with seven trips, from October 4th to November 15th. The 04132 SMVT Bengaluru-Kanpur Central train will run every Wednesday, with seven trips, from October 7th to November 18th. Both trains will have 23 coaches, including AC 2-tier, AC 3-tier, sleeper, and general coaches.

08311 Sambalpur-Podanur will run every Wednesday from 9th September to 25th November with 12 trips and 08312 Podanur-Sambalpur will run every Friday from 11th September to 27th November with 12 trips.
01925 Kanpur Central – Madurai will run every Wednesday with 13 trips from September 2 to November 25, and 01926 Madurai – Kanpur Central will run every Saturday with 13 trips from September 5 to November 28. Existing timings and stoppages will apply for these trains. 09424 Ahmedabad-Mangaluru Junction will run every Friday from September 4 to November 27 with 13 trips and 09423 Mangaluru Junction-Ahmedabad will run every Saturday from September 5 to November 28 with 13 trips. Existing timings and stoppages will remain applicable.