Good News for Mumbai-Bihar Travelers! Indian Railways to operate special festive trains from THIS date: Check routes, timetable, halts

To manage the heavy passenger traffic during the festive season, Indian Railways has introduced new special train services on the Mumbai to Bihar route. The LTT Mumbai-Raxaul Superfast Specials will run weekly to ease travel during peak periods, starting on October 6, 2024, and continuing until February 2, 2025. This initiative, launched ahead of Diwali and Chhath Puja, is part of a broader effort to accommodate more passengers during the holiday rush. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw previously confirmed the operation of 5,975 special trains during the 2024 festive season, up from 4,429 in 2023-24. The increased services aim to enhance convenience for over one crore passengers, with trains available from October 1 to November 30.

Indian Railways has also sanctioned 12,500 special trains for the 2024-25 period to further alleviate the pressure from the high travel demand during the festive season. In addition to the special trains, 108 regular trains will have extra general coaches to accommodate more passengers.

This extensive plan aims to manage the surge in travel due to major festivals such as Durga Puja (starting on October 9), Diwali (October 31), and Chhath Puja (November 7-8), which typically witness an overwhelming number of passengers.

Special train services between Mumbai and Raxaul

Indian Railways has introduced 36 special services of the LTT Mumbai-Raxaul Superfast Special (train numbers 05585/05586) to manage the festive season rush on the Mumbai-Bihar route. The train will operate 18 trips until January 2025, running from Mumbai’s Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) every Sunday at 4 p.m., reaching Raxaul, Bihar, at 7:45 a.m. on Tuesday.

Key halts for the service include major stations like Kalyan, Nasik, Bhusaval, Itarsi, Jabalpur, Prayagraj Cheoki, Danapur, Patliputra, Muzaffarpur, and Sitamarhi. The train comprises 22 LHB coaches, including 13 sleeper class and 8 general second-sitting coaches, providing ample capacity for the high demand.

Additionally, Indian Railways has extended the services of several special trains between Dadar and Bhusaval. Central Railways will run the Dadar-Bhusaval-Dadar Tri-Weekly Special Train for 78 trips between October 1 and December 30, 2024, to further help manage the passenger load. This is part of broader efforts to handle the travel rush during the festive season.