Indian Railways launches festival special trains and operational updates for holidays
Indian Railways is taking major steps to manage the massive surge in passenger traffic during the upcoming festive season covering Dussehra, Diwali, and Chhath Puja. With Diwali scheduled for November 8, 2026, and Chhath Puja from November 12 to 15, 2026, Northern and Western Railways have rolled out extensive festival special train services. Ticket bookings for Diwali specials officially began on September 7, 2026, at 8:00 AM IST, following the standard 60-day advance reservation period. Passengers should note that special fare rules apply to the '0' series festival trains, which include a 10% surcharge for second class and a 30% surcharge for sleeper and AC classes, with no concessions permitted.
New Route Additions and Extended Services
Western Railway announced on September 11, 2026, the launch of special trains between Bandra Terminus and Bhavnagar Terminus, and between Dadar and Hazrat Nizamuddin. Bookings for train number 09023/09024 opened on September 11, 2026, while bookings for train 04001 started on September 12, 2026. Meanwhile, Northern Railway is deploying five pairs of special trains linking Delhi with key destinations in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. These important routes cover Varanasi-Delhi-Varanasi, Ayodhya Cantt-Anand Vihar Terminal, Chandigarh-Patna-Chandigarh, Varanasi-Chandigarh, and Firozepur Cantt-Patna.
To accommodate the high demand, authorities have also prolonged the operational duration for several existing routes. The service periods for the Barauni-Gwalior and Mau-Kolkata special trains have been extended until November 29, 2026. Additionally, three pairs of trains running between Mumbai Central and Ahmedabad or Indore now have their service periods extended until November 25-30, 2026.
BRICS Summit Train Disruptions in Delhi Division
In a separate operational update, the BRICS summit held in Delhi from September 11 to 13, 2026, directly affected the movement of approximately 120 trains within the Delhi division. These services experienced necessary cancellations, diversions, rescheduling, or terminal station adjustments. Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay, Chief Public Relations Officer for Northern Railway, confirmed that these prompt adjustments were executed strictly due to essential operational requirements. All travellers planning trips during this period are strongly advised to verify their specific train status and updated schedules prior to arriving at the station.