To handle the surge in passengers during the festival and wedding season, the Northern Railway zone has announced 21 special trains, including a dedicated Vande Bharat Special Express.
These services aim to ease congestion at busy stations and provide relief to stranded and waitlisted passengers, especially amid ongoing disruptions in air travel.
Special Trains Connecting Major Cities
The new trains will connect high-traffic cities like Gorakhpur, Anand Vihar, Bareilly, Moradabad, Ambala, Jammu Tawi, Mumbai, New Delhi, Vadodara, Surat, Thiruvananthapuram, and Udhna.
In addition, long-distance routes to Howrah, Ernakulam, Varanasi, Dhanbad, Gurgaon, Ajmer, Prayagraj, and Chhapra will see strengthened connectivity.
Routes were prioritised based on advance booking trends, Tatkal demand, and seasonal travel patterns.
By adding capacity on both short-haul and long-haul routes, Northern Railway aims to reduce overcrowding at major junctions such as Anand Vihar Terminal, New Delhi, Howrah, and Mumbai Central.
Vande Bharat Special Express Among New Services
One of the highlights is the Vande Bharat Special Express, a high-speed premium service operating as:
02440 Martyr Captain Tushar Mahajan – New Delhi Vande Bharat Special Express
This move reflects Indian Railways’ effort to use premium trains even in temporary operations to reduce pressure on conventional express trains.
Key Special Trains You Should Know
Some of the prominent special trains include:
05591/05592: Gorakhpur–Anand Vihar Terminal Special
04001: Mumbai Central–New Delhi Superfast Special
04080: Hazrat Nizamuddin–Thiruvananthapuram Superfast Special
04459/04460: Howrah–New Delhi Reserved Specials
04061/04062: Sabarmati–Delhi Sarai Rohilla Reserved Specials
02309/02310 & 02395/02396: Patna–Anand Vihar Terminal Specials
05563/05564: Darbhanga–Anand Vihar Terminal Specials
09003/09004: Mumbai Central–Shakur Basti Superfast Specials
These services are expected to reduce waitlists, especially on the Bihar–Delhi, Mumbai–Delhi, eastern India–NCR, and south–north corridors.
Preparations for Smooth Operations
Railway officials have deployed additional rakes, onboard staff, and maintenance crews to ensure timely operations.
Stations will focus on crowd management, ticket coordination, and boarding supervision.
Passengers are advised to check train schedules on authorised railway platforms and book early due to high expected demand.
