Indian Railways is making extensive preparations to handle the massive passenger rush during the upcoming festive season by operating thousands of dedicated services. Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has announced that over 12,000 special trains will operate between October 1 and November 15, 2026, to help travellers reach their hometowns comfortably for Dussehra, Diwali, and Chhath Puja. General bookings for Diwali travel covering November 6 to November 8 opened between September 7 and September 9, while bookings for Chhath Puja travel spanning November 12 to November 15 were scheduled between September 13 and September 16, 2026. Standard ticket reservations begin at 8:00 AM IST via the IRCTC portal and railway counters, strictly following a 60-day Advance Reservation Period.
Supplementary zero-series festival special trains operate under Train on Special Fare regulations. Passengers should note that these services include a
10% surcharge for Second Sitting and a 30% surcharge for Sleeper and AC classes, with no ticket concessions permitted. Key routes recently announced by Northern Railway include vital connections between Delhi and major destinations such as Varanasi, Ayodhya, and Patna. Furthermore, specific long-distance services including the
Mumbai Central to Katihar, Kanpur Central to Guwahati, Dibrugarh to Kolkata, and Katihar to Amritsar Festival Specials have been confirmed with operational schedules extending from early September through December 2026.
To ensure a smooth booking experience, Indian Railways advises passengers to utilize the IRCTC Master List and complete Aadhaar-verification well in advance. Travellers should also remain aware of the tiered refund policies for e-tickets.
Full refunds are issued if Railways cancels the service; otherwise, 25% is deducted for cancellations made between 72 and 24 hours before departure, 50% is deducted for cancellations between 24 and 8 hours, and
no refund is provided for cancellations made within 8 hours of departure.
