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New Delhi. Indian Railways has geared up to deal with the huge crowd in trains and shortage of confirmed tickets during the upcoming festivals of Dussehra, Diwali and Chhath Puja. To facilitate lakhs of passengers returning to their native homes during the festive season, it has been officially announced to run a total of 102 trips of Festival Special trains on various major routes passing through the stations of Central Railway and Solapur Division. These additional services will provide great relief to passengers commuting between major industrial and commercial hubs like Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Latur, Kolhapur and Kalaburagi. According to the Railway Administration, the reservation window for these special trains with special charges is being opened from September 27 at all Computerized Passenger Reservation Centers (PRS) and IRCTC portal.
To control the festive rush between Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, weekly special train will be run between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) Mumbai and Chennai Beach:
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CSMT Mumbai – Chennai Beach Special: This train will depart CSMT Mumbai at 00:35 pm every Wednesday between October 14 and November 18 and reach Chennai Beach at 23:30 pm on the same day. This service will make a total of 6 trips each in both directions (total 12 trips).
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CHENNAI BEACH – CSMT MUMBAI SPECIAL: In return, this train will leave Chennai Beach at 04:00 am every Thursday between October 15 and November 19 and reach Mumbai at 04:00 am the next day.
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Major stops: This train will stop at Dadar, Thane, Kalyan, Lonavala, Pune, Daund, Kurduvadi, Solapur, Kalaburagi, Wadi, Krishna, Raichur, Mantralayam Road, Adoni, Guntakal, Gooty, Tadipatri, Yerraguntla, Cuddapah, Rajampet, Renigunta, Arakkonam and Perambur stations in both directions.
Bi-Weekly special train will be operated between Mumbai and Latur for migrants from Marathwada region, running two days a week:
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CSMT Mumbai – Latur Special: This train will depart from Mumbai at 00:35 pm every Tuesday and Thursday from October 13 to November 24 and reach Latur at 11:40 pm on the same day. This service will make a total of 13 trips.
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Latur – CSMT Mumbai Special: In the return direction, this train will depart from Latur at 16:30 pm every Tuesday and Thursday between October 13 and November 24 and reach Mumbai at 04:10 am the next day. This train will also complete 13 trips.
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Major stops: En route, this train will stop at Dadar, Thane, Kalyan, Lonavala, Pune, Uruli, Daund, Bhigwan, Jeur, Kurduvadi, Barshi Town, Dharashiv (Osmanabad) and Harangul stations.
In view of the huge flow of intercity passengers between Western Maharashtra and North Karnataka, special trains will be run between Shri Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Terminus (Kolhapur) and Kalaburagi (Gulbarga) six days a week (except Fridays):
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Kolhapur – Kalaburagi Special: This train will depart from Kolhapur at 06:10 am from October 10 to November 15 (daily except Friday) and reach Kalaburagi at 16:10 pm on the same day (total 32 trips).
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Kalaburagi – Kolhapur Special: In the return journey, this train will leave Kalaburagi at 18:10 pm from October 10 to November 15 (except Friday) and reach Kolhapur at 05:40 am the next day (total 32 trips).
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Major stops: The service will stop at Hatkanangle, Jaysingpur, Miraj Junction, Arag, Belanki, Sulgere, Kavathe Mahankal, Langarpeth, Dhalgaon, Mhasoba Dongargaon, Javale, Vasud, Sangola, Pandharpur, Modnimb, Kurduvadi Junction, Solapur and Kalaburagi Junction.
Railway officials have clarified that special fare rules will be applicable for traveling in all these 102-trip festival special trains. Passengers can reserve their seats on time to avoid inconvenience and black marketing by agents:
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Booking Window: The reservation process is starting from the morning of 27th September.
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Booking Means: Yatri official website www.irctc.co.inIRCTC Rail Connect App, newly developed RailOne App Or you can book tickets directly by visiting the computerized PRS counter of any railway station.
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Live Status and Timetable: For detailed information about exact timings, coach composition and halts of trains, passengers can access the National Train Inquiry System (National Train Inquiry System).NTES app) or official inquiry website of Railways enquiry.indianrail.gov.in You can get information by visiting.
Railway administration has appealed that during festivals only validBig relief to those going home on Dussehra, Diwali and Chhath Puja: Indian Railways will run 102 festival special trains, it will be easy for passengers to get confirmed tickets on UP-Bihar and Delhi-Mumbai routes.
Meta Description: Indian Railways Festival Special Trains: On the occasion of Dussehra, Diwali and Chhath Puja 2026, Indian Railways has announced to run 102 special trains. Read here complete information about the timetable, route and ticket booking process of these festival special trains running on major routes like Delhi, Patna, Gorakhpur, Lucknow, Mumbai and Howrah.
With the arrival of the festive season, there is a huge surge in the number of passengers traveling by rail across the country. During Dussehra (Vijayadashami), Diwali and Chhath Mahaparva, lakhs of people plan to travel to their homes to celebrate the festival with their families. Keeping in mind this massive crowd and long waiting list in regular trains, the Indian Railway Ministry has decided to operate 102 Festival Special Trains. With this step of the Railway Board, migrants going to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand will get a direct option to get instant and easy confirmed tickets.
During this peak festival season, a large number of travelers from major metros like New Delhi, Anand Vihar, Mumbai Central, Surat, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Chennai head to Eastern and Northern India. As seats in regular trains fill up months in advance, ticket scrambles are common. To solve this serious problem, various zones including Northern Railway, East Central Railway, Western Railway and North Eastern Railway have established mutual coordination and prepared the outline of these 102 special services.
Major routes, timetables and major stops
According to preliminary details released by the Railway Administration, these special trains are being run on the busiest corridors of the country. These mainly include routes like New Delhi to Patna Junction, Anand Vihar Terminal to Gorakhpur, Old Delhi to Darbhanga, Mumbai to Varanasi, Surat to Muzaffarpur, Howrah to New Delhi and Secunderabad to Danapur. The schedule of these trains has been prepared in such a way that passengers can reach their destinations on time before the major puja days.
To facilitate long distance travel, these festival special trains have an appropriate combination of air conditioned (AC 2-Tier, AC 3-Tier), sleeper class and general unreserved coaches. The number of general coaches has been increased especially for general class passengers so that even daily or middle class passengers without reservation can easily reach their homes. These trains have well-organized stoppages at major stations like Kanpur Central, Prayagraj Junction, Mughalsarai (Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction), Lucknow Charbagh, Samastipur, Chhapra, Gaya and Bhagalpur.
Keeping the convenience of passengers at the center, additional security arrangements are also being ensured at the station premises. Additional contingents of Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) have been deployed to control huge crowds at major stations like New Delhi, Anand Vihar and Patna. Passengers will be allowed to enter unreserved coaches in a systematic manner through the queue system. Apart from this, additional inquiry counters, Automatic Ticket Vending Machines (ATVM) and Public Address System (PA System) have been kept in active mode round the clock at the stations.
To keep the ticket reservation process smooth, the booking window of these special trains is being opened in a phased manner on the official website and mobile app of IRCTC. Passengers can get real-time information about train number, departure time and seat availability directly through National Train Inquiry System (NTES) and Rail Madad helpline 139.
Passengers planning to travel by rail during festivals are advised to make reservations as soon as they decide on the date of their journey to avoid last minute hassles and purchase authentic tickets only from the official IRCTC platform or Railway Reservation Counters.