New Delhi, October 21: Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting, and Electronics & Information Technology, visited the War Room at the Railway Board to assess passenger movement during the ongoing festive season. During his visit, the Minister commended the staff for their round-the-clock efforts and extended his best wishes to them ahead of Diwali, according to an official release.
Indian Railways (IR) has made comprehensive arrangements to manage the surge in passenger demand during the festive season. To ensure a smooth travel experience for passengers during Puja, Diwali, and Chhath, IR is operating a total of 12,011 special trains. This marks a significant increase from the 7,724 special trains operated during the same period last year.
To further ease the festive rush, Indian Railways has been running trains at full capacity. Between October 1 and 19, 2025, IR successfully operated 3,960 special trains to meet the heightened demand. Looking ahead, to accommodate the anticipated surge in passengers for Diwali and Chhath, Indian Railways plans to operate an additional 8,000 special trains in the coming days.
The special trains are being run across all Indian Railways zones, with the Northern Railway (1,919 trains), Central Railway (1,998 trains), and Western Railway (1,501 trains) operating the largest numbers. Additionally, other zones, including East Central Railway (1,217 trains) and North Western Railway (1,217 trains), have deployed extra services to cater to regional travel needs.
As of October 19, more than one crore passengers have already benefited from these special services. To ensure a seamless travel experience, passenger movement has been efficiently managed across stations, with provisions like dedicated holding areas, additional ticket counters, clean washrooms, and access to potable water.
In the New Delhi area, which includes stations like New Delhi, Delhi, Anand Vihar, Hazrat Nizamuddin, and Shakur Basti, passenger traffic between October 16 and 19, 2025, totaled 15.17 lakh, compared to 13.66 lakh during the same period last year, marking an increase of 1.51 lakh passengers.
Earlier, the Union Minister visited the New Delhi and Anand Vihar Railway stations, interacting with passengers to gather feedback on the arrangements made by Indian Railways. Special provisions at these stations include holding areas, an increased number of ticket counters, access to potable drinking water, updated train schedules, and other amenities to ensure passenger comfort, the release stated.
