Indian Railways is operating 12,000 special trains between October 1 and November 15, 2026 to accommodate the massive surge in passenger traffic during the upcoming Diwali and Chhath Puja festivities. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw confirmed the initiative, while Yashjeet Singh, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager of the Ambala Division, stated that the special scheduling is specifically designed to manage holiday crowds effectively. Diwali will be celebrated on November 8, 2026, with Chhath Puja following between November 12 and November 15, 2026. Bookings for travel during the Diwali period opened between September 7 and September 9, 2026, while bookings for the Chhath period are scheduled to open between September 13 and September 16, 2026 under the standard 60-day Advance Reservation Period starting daily at 8:00 AM IST.
The Northern Railway has released a comprehensive schedule for
20 major festival special trains connecting key regions including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, and Maharashtra. This includes two important services connecting Chandigarh to Patna and Varanasi. The
Chandigarh-Patna Junction Special Express (04512) will operate every Thursday from
October 1 to November 26, with the return service
04511 running every Friday from
October 2 to November 27. Additionally, the Western Railway has extended the operation period of three pairs of special trains between Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad, and Indore until
November 30, 2026.
To facilitate smoother transactions and prevent fraudulent bookings, Indian Railways and IRCTC have mandated that
only Aadhaar-verified users can book tickets during the first 15 minutes of the online booking window. Passengers are strongly advised to save their profiles in the IRCTC Master List in advance. Furthermore, to manage festive congestion efficiently, the railways have planned direct connecting trains between Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka running from
September 11 through December 7, 2026.
