[REVISION HISTORY]

Indian Railways festival ticket demand and special services

Updated 14 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

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2026-10-26 04:01 UTC → 2026-10-27 03:02 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Indian Railways and the IRCTC are managing significant surges in passenger demand ahead of major festivals. Following a policy change shortening the reservation window from 120 to 60 days, IRCTC reached a milestone of 2,006,353 single-day bookings. Online transactions now represent 89 percent of all bookings. As Diwali and Chhath Puja approach, high demand has led to rapid sell-outs on major routes, with many regular railway reservations reaching capacity and generating extensive waiting lists. To alleviate congestion, authorities have expanded special services. In Telangana, South Central Railway is operating 34 special services between Secunderabad and Sirpur Kaghaznagar. East Central Railway has announced Puja special trains connecting Bihar to cities such as Pune, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and Kota. West Railway is running Amrit Bharat Special trains between Udhna and Jaynagar to assist migrants, while a 16-coach Vande Bharat Festival Special will connect New Delhi and Patna starting October 16. In Kolkata, Metro Railway is implementing night-long services on its Blue and Green Lines during Maha Saptami, Maha Ashtami, and Maha Navami to assist festival revellers. Additionally, the Sealdah–Khurda Road Special will run weekly from October 17 through November 28. In Kerala, Southern Railway has introduced new services to manage Diwali traffic, including the Thiruvananthapuram North–Hazrat Nizamuddin Express Special and services between Thiruvananthapuram North and Tambaram. However, engineering works at Kalamasseri Station will cause the Bengaluru–Ernakulam Junction Vande Bharat Express to be partially cancelled on October 27, 2026, short-terminating at Thrissur. ~~Meanwhile,~~ To further manage the ~~Thiruvananthapuram Rail Division has conducted cleanliness~~ Diwali and ~~passenger engagement drives across 102 stations under ‘Special Campaign 6.0’. Broader travel trends show a nearly 40 percent year-on-year increase in domestic searches~~ Chhath Puja surges, Central Railway is introducing special services between Nagpur and Mumbai on ~~Airbnb, particularly~~ November 28 and 29, alongside additional connectivity between Nagpur and Hadapsar (Pune) in late November. Meanwhile, Northern Railway has implemented timetable revisions for ~~destinations like Varanasi, Goa,~~ several major trains operating from Delhi, Anand Vihar, and ~~Bengaluru.~~ New Delhi toward Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

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