Northern Railway has made extensive arrangements to ensure smooth and comfortable journeys for passengers during this festive season. To accommodate the expected surge in demand, the railway is running festival special trains. In a press conference held Friday at Northern Railway headquarters, General Manager Ashok Kumar Verma briefed the media on the special arrangements made for Diwali and Chhath Puja.
Northern Railway has announced a total of 3,144 trips from October 1 to November 30, 2024, the highest number planned to date. Approximately 85% of these festival special trains will serve passengers traveling to eastern destinations, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Assam.
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During this 13-day period, Northern Railway will operate 65 extra trains per day from Delhi, compared to 59 trains operated during the same timeframe last year. Officials stated that 120,000 additional berths will be made available to passengers in this period.
Special trains are planned to connect major destinations across the country, including routes from Delhi (DLI), New Delhi (NDLS), and Anand Vihar Terminal to Patna, Danapur, Muzaffarpur, Jogbani, Saharsa, Jaynagar, Katihar, Darbhanga, Gorakhpur, Raxaul, Varanasi, Gaya, and Shri Vaishno Devi Katra.
From October 26 to November 7, 2024, 49 extra coaches will be added to important trains. In total, approximately 170,434 extra berths will be available during this period, including both special trains and additional coaches, compared to 148,750 extra berths during the same period in 2023.
Additionally, approximately 54,000 unreserved passenger capacities (up from 41,000 last year) will be available in special trains. Northern Railway plans to run unannounced special trains as needed to further accommodate passenger demand.