Indian Railways extends service for four weekly special trains to manage festive rush
Indian Railways is taking proactive steps to help passengers travel smoothly during the upcoming festive season including Dussehra, Diwali, and Chhath Puja. As officially announced on September 19, 2026, the South Central Railway and Indian Railways will operate a total of 66 additional trips through October, November, and December 2026. These special services connect key states such as Telangana, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka to ensure that holiday travellers can reach their hometowns comfortably.
The decision comes as a major relief for commuters who often struggle to secure confirmed tickets during peak travel months. By extending the duration of these popular weekly routes, the railway administration aims to ease severe congestion at major railway stations across the country. In addition to these services, railway authorities are also exploring options to increase available seats under the Tatkal quota to further improve ticket confirmation rates.
Details of Extended Weekly Special Trains
Travellers planning their festive journeys can take note of the following extended schedules for the four weekly special trains:
Cherlapally-Shalimar Weekly Special: This train will run nine services from Cherlapally on Saturdays between October 3 and November 28, and another nine services from Shalimar on Fridays between October 2 and November 27.
Coimbatore-Jaipur Weekly Special: To facilitate long-distance passengers, this service will operate eight trips from Coimbatore on Thursdays starting October 8 through November 26, and eight trips from Jaipur on Sundays from October 11 through November 29, accounting for 16 additional trips in total.
Jodhpur-Chennai Weekly Special: Passengers travelling between Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu can utilize nine trips scheduled from Jodhpur on Saturdays from October 3 to November 28, along with nine trips from Chennai on Tuesdays from October 6 to December 1.
Kanpur Central-SMVT Bengaluru Weekly Special: Offering the highest number of trips among these four routes, this service will run 10 times from Kanpur Central on Thursdays between October 1 and December 3, and 10 times from SMVT Bengaluru on Saturdays between October 3 and December 5, contributing 24 additional trips.
Beyond these four specific services, Indian Railways has also outlined plans to operate over 100 other special trains to handle the massive passenger rush during the festive months. Passengers are advised to check the official IRCTC website or mobile app for updated timings, seat availability, and booking details before planning their journey.