Indian Railways’ plan for Durga Puja rush: Eastern Railway is planning to run special trains on key routes to West Bengal ahead of Durga Puja to manage the expected increase in passenger demand during the festive season.

During Durga Puja, a large number of people return to their hometowns in Bengal from different parts of the country to celebrate the festival with their families. This year, Durga Puja will be celebrated from October 16 to October 21.

With regular trains on several routes already seeing heavy demand, the availability of additional services is expected to provide more travel options to passengers. The special trains are being planned on routes that are likely to witness higher passenger demand during the festive period.

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Speaking to Indianexpress.com, Shivram Majhi, Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of Eastern Railway, has confirmed the development. He said special trains will be operated on routes witnessing higher passenger demand during the Durga Puja holidays.

“Yes. We will run special train in the routes where there is demand during puja holidays,” the Railway official told Indianexpress.com.

The zonal railway has also announced revised timings for reservation offices during Durga Puja. All computerised reservation offices in the Kolkata and Howrah areas will operate in a single shift from 8 am to 2 pm on October 19, 20 and 21, instead of the usual two shifts.

However, booking counters at Howrah, Sealdah and Kolkata Terminal will continue to operate as usual on these days.

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High demand for Bengal-bound trains during Durga Puja

There is high demand for Bengal-bound trains ahead of Durga Puja, with waitlists crossing 290 on several trains. Some trains and classes are also showing REGRET, which means the train class or quota has reached its maximum waiting-list capacity.

Delhi-Howrah Route

The Delhi-Howrah route is among the popular routes seeing heavy demand ahead of the festival.

On 12306 Kolkata Rajdhani, tickets for October 16 are fully booked across classes. According to IRCTC, the General Waitlist in Third AC has crossed 200, while the waitlist is above 85 in Second AC and 20 in First AC.

Similarly, 12314 Sealdah Rajdhani has a waitlist of more than 290 in Third AC, while Second AC and First AC are showing REGRET.

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On 12382 Poorva Express, the booking status is showing REGRET across classes. Meanwhile, on 12260 Sealdah Duronto, the Third AC waitlist has crossed 220, while First AC and Second AC are showing REGRET.

Mumbai-Howrah Route

The Mumbai-Howrah route is also seeing strong demand for October 16, with several trains showing high waitlists or REGRET status.

On 12859 Gitanjali Express, the Sleeper Class waitlist has crossed 120, while the waitlist in Third AC Economy and Third AC has crossed 63 and 100, respectively. Second AC is showing REGRET.

Similarly, on 12322 Kolkata Mail, Sleeper Class and First AC are showing REGRET. The waitlist in Third AC has crossed 120, while it is above 45 in Second AC.

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Chennai-Howrah Route

The Chennai-Howrah route is also seeing high demand ahead of Durga Puja, with several trains fully booked for October 16.

On 12509 Guwahati Express, the booking status is showing REGRET across all classes. On 12842 Coromandel Express, Third AC and Third AC Economy are showing REGRET, while the waitlist in Sleeper Class, Second AC and First AC has crossed 130, 40 and 16, respectively.

Meanwhile, on 16107 SRC Amrit Bharat Express, the Sleeper Class waitlist has crossed 110. Several other trains on the route are also showing high waitlists or REGRET status.

Guwahati-Howrah Route

The Guwahati-Howrah route is also seeing heavy demand for October 16. On train number 27576 Howrah-Kamakhya Vande Bharat Sleeper, the waitlist has crossed 150 in Third AC and 65 in Second AC, while First AC is showing REGRET.

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Similarly, on 12346 Saraighat Express, the waitlist has crossed 110 in Sleeper Class, 90 in Third AC and 50 in Second AC. First AC is showing REGRET.

On 13176 Kanchanjunga Express, the waitlist has crossed 70 in Sleeper Class and 49 in Third AC, while Second AC is showing REGRET.

Apart from these, other popular routes to Bengal include Patna-Howrah, Hyderabad/Secunderabad-Howrah, Bengaluru-Howrah and Surat-Howrah, among others, which are also expected to see increased passenger demand during Durga Puja.