Indian Railways has officially announced that ticket bookings for travel on November 11, 2026, will open on September 12, 2026, at 8:00 AM IST. This schedule aligns with the 60-day Advance Reservation Period, which allows passengers to secure travel arrangements well ahead of the Chhath Puja festival. The peak travel period is anticipated to fall between November 8 and November 14, 2026, with the main festival events, including Nahay Khay on November 13 and Sandhya Arghya on November 15, driving significant passenger volume.
Key details for passengers planning travel during the upcoming Chhath Puja festival season include:
- Ticket bookings for November 11 travel open on September 12, 2026, at 8:00 AM IST.
- Peak festival travel period spans from November 8 to November 14, 2026.
- Hundreds of festival special trains will operate with shorter booking windows of 10 to 30 days and a mandatory special fare surcharge.
- Aadhaar-authentication rules restrict opening day bookings to verified IRCTC accounts only between 8:00 AM and midnight.
To facilitate the high demand,
Indian Railways is operating hundreds of festival special trains across various Zonal Railways, including Northern, East Central, Western, Central, and South Western railways. These special trains often feature shorter booking windows of 10 to 30 days and include a mandatory special fare surcharge. Authorities have warned that
demand on popular routes connecting major metropolitan hubs such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Pune to regions like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and West Bengal is extremely high, with tickets frequently selling out within 60 to 90 seconds.
Passengers are reminded of the
Aadhaar-authentication rule implemented on January 12, 2026, which restricts reserved ticket bookings from 8:00 AM to midnight on the opening day to verified IRCTC accounts only.
Non-verified accounts must wait until the following day to book. Indian Railways advises travelers to ensure their accounts are Aadhaar-verified and to pre-save passenger profiles in the IRCTC Master List to expedite the reservation process. Travelers are strongly encouraged to log in well before the 8:00 AM window to maximize their chances of securing a seat during this high-demand festive rush.
