Indian Railways announces massive deployment of special trains for Holi travel rush

To manage the heavy passenger movement expected during the Holi festival, Indian Railways has rolled out an extensive plan to operate a record number of special trains across the country. Over 1,410 Holi special services have been scheduled so far, with the total likely to touch 1,500 trains during the peak festive period.

The special train services will primarily run in March and are aimed at easing congestion on busy routes, ensuring smoother travel, and providing better connectivity between major cities and regions. The scale of operations marks a significant increase compared to the previous year, when 1,144 special train trips were operated during Holi.

The East Central Railway will lead the operations with 285 special trains, followed by the Western Railway with 231 services and the Central Railway with 209 trains. The South Central Railway has planned 160 trains, while the Northern Railway will operate 108 special services. The North Western Railway will add 71 trains to the festive schedule.

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Further enhancing network coverage, the North Central Railway will operate 66 trains. Both the North Eastern Railway and the East Coast Railway will run 62 special trains each. The South Western Railway has scheduled 47 services, the West Central Railway 43, and the Southern Railway 39 trains. The South East Central Railway will operate 15 services, while the Konkan Railway will run 9 special trains. The Northeast Frontier Railway will operate 2 special trains to meet regional demand.

Through this large-scale initiative, Indian Railways aims to ensure safe, comfortable, and timely travel for millions of passengers heading home to celebrate Holi with their families.