Click it and Unblock the Notifications
Indian Railways has announced more than 100 special trains on several routes to manage the passenger rush during the upcoming festive season, which will help people travel to their hometowns for Durga Puja, Diwali, Chhath, and other festivals and spend time with their families. The special trains will operate on
routes connecting states such as Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. They will provide additional seats and berths, helping reduce waiting lists and making festive-season travel easier. Railways has also added extra coaches to some regular trains to accommodate more passengers and provide a more comfortable journey.
IRCTC has Taken Steps to Improve Ticket Booking
IRCTC has taken several measures to improve the ticket-booking system during the festive season, including adding more servers, upgrading the Next Generation e-Ticketing (NGeT) system, introducing a new user interface, and using anti-bot technology to improve the booking experience for genuine passengers. IRCTC said around 89 per cent of all reserved tickets are currently booked online.
The capacity of the NGeT system has been increased through hardware and software upgrades. New servers have replaced older infrastructure, taking the overall capacity of the system to nearly twice its earlier level. Software optimisation and architectural improvements have also increased the system's ability to handle booking requests.
IRCTC introduced the beta version of its new user interface on July 15, 2026. The redesigned website has a more modern look and presents information in a more organised manner. Passengers can now view seat availability across different classes, including Sleeper, AC 3 Tier and AC 2 Tier, on a single screen.
Festival Special Trains
The announced services include trains connecting major cities and destinations across northern, western, eastern and southern India. The services include additional and extended trains, as well as some regular services with extra coaches.
| Trains / Routes | Trips & Dates | Key Details |
| 01905/01906 Kanpur Central-Asarva-Kanpur Central; 01907/01908 Agra Cantt-Udhna-Agra Cantt; 01909/01910 Asarva-Agra Cantt-Asarva | 8-9 trips each; Oct 5-Dec 1 | Festival specials covering Kanpur, Asarva, Agra Cantt and Udhna |
| 02199/02200 VGL Jhansi-Bandra Terminus; 04139/04140 Prayagraj-Dadar; 04173/04174 Prayagraj-Veraval; 04175/04176 Subedarganj-Dadar; 04177/04178 Subedarganj-Valsad | 8-9 trips each; Oct 1-Nov 29 | Additional services connecting Uttar Pradesh with Mumbai, Gujarat and Veraval |
| 04105/04106 Prayagraj-Udhna; 04119/04120 Subedarganj-Valsad; 04155/04156 Subedarganj-Udhna; 04169/04170 Subedarganj-Indore | 12-18 trips each; Oct 1-Nov 30 | Several services run twice a week |
| 04179/04180 Prayagraj-Sabarmati; 04103/04104 Subedarganj-Panvel; 02877/02878 Ranchi-Anand Vihar | 5-17 additional trips; Oct 3-Nov 29 | 04179/04180 replace 04111/04112; 04103/04104 have 22 LHB coaches |
| 04157/04158 Kanpur Central-Kolkata; 01911/01912 Agra Cantt-Kolkata; 04185/04186 Veerangana Lakshmibai Jhansi-Asansol; 05183/05184 Azamgarh-Bandra Terminus; 09601/09602 Madar-Patna | 8-16 trips; Oct 1-Nov 30 | 05183/05184 and 09601/09602 include additional services; 09601 Tundla timing revised to 14:45/14:50 |
| 02417/02418 Prayagraj-Shakur Basti; 04163/04164 Narayanpur Bazar-Shakur Basti | 27-34 trips; Sep-Dec | 02417/02418 run daily initially, then 4 days a week; 04163/04164 run 3 days a week |
| 03041-03044 Howrah-Raxaul; 03131/03132 Sealdah-Gorakhpur; 03133/03134 Sealdah-Sitamarhi; 03135/03136 Sealdah-Patna; 03185-03188 Kolkata-Madhubani; 03511/03512 Asansol-Patna; 03527/03528 Asansol-Gorakhpur; 03465/03466 Malda Town-Digha | 7-14 trips; Oct 13-Nov 29 | Festival specials connecting West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha routes |
| 03005/03006 Howrah-Lumding; 03129/03130 Kolkata-New Jalpaiguri; 05060/05059 Lalkuan-Kolkata; 08581/08582 Visakhapatnam-SMVT Bengaluru; 08045/08046 Shalimar-Charlapalli | 8-14 additional trips; Oct 2-Nov 30 | General/Sleeper/AC coaches; 08045/08046 have 24 coaches; 05060/05059 have multiple stoppages |
| 07035/07036 Secunderabad-Sirpur Kaghaznagar; 04008/04007 Anand Vihar-Jogbani; 08047/08048 Santragachi-Naharlagun; 09189/09190 Mumbai Central-Katihar; 04127/04128 Kanpur Central-Guwahati; 05736/05735 Katihar-Amritsar; 05932/05931 Dibrugarh-Kolkata; 03407/03408 Bhagalpur-Katihar | 3-94 trips; Aug 29-Dec 11 | Includes festival rush specials, extended services and additional trips; 05932/05931 have 22 coaches |
| 06028/06027 Podanur-Chennai Central; 07097/07098 Hyderabad-Mangaluru Central; 04131/04132 Kanpur Central-SMVT Bengaluru; 08311/08312 Sambalpur-Podanur; 01925/01926 Kanpur Central-Madurai; 09424/09423 Ahmedabad-Mangaluru Junction | 7-13 trips; Sep 2-Nov 28 | 06028/06027 receive 1 AC Chair Car + 1 Chair Car; others operate weekly with existing timings/stoppages where specified |