In a bid to ensure smooth travel during the busy festive season, Indian Railways will operate 6,556 special trains from October 1 to November 30, 2024.

This initiative aims to accommodate the surge in passengers traveling for Durga Puja, Diwali, and Chhath Puja, according to officials.

The number of special trains has been significantly increased this year to meet the growing demand.

Festivals like Durga Puja, Diwali, and Chhath attract millions of travelers from across the country, especially to states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal, where these celebrations hold deep cultural and religious significance.

Indian Railways has prepared to facilitate these journeys, ensuring that passengers reach their destinations comfortably over the next two months.

Last year, Indian Railways operated 4,429 festival special trains, providing much-needed relief to millions of travelers.

Every year, a large influx of passengers from various parts of India travel to destinations in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal to celebrate these major Hindu festivals.

This heavy rush often leads to trains being booked out months in advance, with tickets going on the waiting list.

To address this, Indian Railways will once again operate special trains this year to ease travel during the festival season.

Northern Railway, in coordination with other railway zones, will run 2,944 of these special trains between October 1 and November 30, 2024.

This is a significant 172 per cent increase compared to the 1,082 special trains operated during the same period last year.

Notably, 83 per cent of these trains will serve passengers traveling to eastern states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Assam.

Popular destinations for these special trains from the National Capital Region include cities like Barauni, Samastipur, Saharsa, Varanasi, Ayodhya, Gorakhpur, Jainagar, Darbhanga, Jogbani, Patna, Kolkata, Guwahati, Howrah, Muzaffarpur, Katihar, Tatanagar, and Lucknow.

Northern Railway remains committed to ensuring that passengers can celebrate these festivals with their loved ones.

In addition to the special trains, Northern Railway will also increase the passenger capacity of regular trains by attaching extra coaches, providing more seats and berths to meet the growing demand.