Central Railway Operates 705 Special Trains for Diwali and Chhath, Over 10.6 Lakh Passengers Travel So Far

Mumbai, October 21, 2025 — The Central Railway (CR) has so far operated 705 special trains for the Diwali and Chhath festivals, carrying more than 10.6 lakh passengers, officials said on Tuesday.

Speaking to the media, Central Railway General Manager Vijay Kumar said that CR plans to operate 1,998 Diwali and Chhath special trains between September 19 and November 30, out of the 12,011 special services scheduled nationwide by zonal railways.

According to Kumar, Pune has the highest number of special services, followed by Mumbai. “These festival special trains are expected to facilitate travel for over 30 lakh passengers, providing convenient connectivity to Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh,” he said.

Over 600 special trains have already been notified from Mumbai alone, with 100 regular trains and 8–10 special trains departing daily. “Between Tuesday and the next three days, 77 trains will be operated, including 24 originating from the Mumbai division,” Kumar said.

By Tuesday afternoon, three special trains had departed from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) to Danapur, Muzaffarpur, and Gorakhpur, receiving an enthusiastic response from passengers. “These are in addition to the 22 Bihar-bound trains that run daily,” he added.

To handle the festive rush, CR has expanded holding areas at major stations, including LTT, CSMT, and Pune. “The holding capacity at LTT is around 8,000 passengers, and we aim to increase it to 10,000 soon,” Kumar said.

Additional Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel have been deployed at CSMT, LTT, Dadar, and Kalyan stations for crowd management. The RPF will remain on round-the-clock duty over the next four days.

Kumar said that platform allocations are being finalized in advance to ensure smooth boarding, with no last-minute changes. “We are also avoiding assigning two crowded trains to island platforms to maintain smooth passenger flow,” he noted.