Indian Railways is introducing additional trains to accommodate the festive rush

With a series of big festivals to follow, the Indian Railways has announced special festivals trains to cater to the increased passenger traffic and festival rush. Passenger volume increases multifold every year during Durga Puja, Chhath and Diwali, as people visit their hometowns to celebrate with family or go on a vacation. As it becomes difficult to get a reservation on regular trains, the different zones of Indian Railways have announced additional sets of trains. [caption id=“attachment_2643272” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption]

Special festival trains: All you need to know            

Eastern Railway is running eight pairs of weekly Puja special trains between Malda via Sultanpur and Malda-Haridwar. The passengers on Haridwar-Malda, Gorakhpur-Howrah and Howrah-Chhapra routes will be benefited from these trains. These trains are expected to start their operations in the first week of October 2019. The passengers will be able to book tickets for these trains through IRCTC website or at the railway reservation offices. They can also get the updates on these trains on railway websites. According to railway sources, Howrah-Gorakhpur special train is expected to be operational from 4 October, while the special trains on Malda Town-Haridwar and Howrah-Chhapra routes are likely to begin the journey from 7 October. The special trains on Howrah-Gorakhpur route and Howrah-Chhapra route will run till 25 October and 28 October respectively. The special train on Malda Town-Haridwar will be operational till 25 November. All the special trains will run as a special train on special charges and no concessional booking will be allowed in these trains. The passengers will be able to book air-conditioned, sleeper or general second class ticket. Booking for all the special trains will be opened on 16 September 2019 through the IRCTC e-ticketing website and the Indian Railways reservations offices and other related ticket booking centres. The passengers should confirm the timings of special trains and the latest updates through railway enquiry or website.