NFR Rolls Out Over 12,000 Special Trains for Festive Season Travel

The General Manager of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), Chetan Kumar Shrivastava, on Tuesday addressed the press at Guwahati Railway Station regarding the special arrangements made by Indian Railways to handle the festive rush during Puja, Diwali, and the upcoming Chhath Puja.

Shrivastava said that Indian Railways has taken extensive measures to meet the surge in passenger demand this festive season. To ensure smooth travel for passengers, the Railways is operating 12,011 special trains across the country, marking a significant increase from 7,724 trains during the same period last year. Within the Northeast Frontier Railway zone, 48 special festival trains are being operated, covering a total of 620 trips across various routes from September to December 2025.

Special arrangements have also been made at major railway stations such as Katihar, New Jalpaiguri, Guwahati, Jogbani, and Kishanganj. These include designated holding areas for passengers, improved announcement systems, additional fans, extra ticket counters, and automatic ticket vending machines to facilitate smooth movement. Round-the-clock war rooms have been established, and extra staff along with Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel have been deployed to manage crowds and assist passengers effectively.

Special trains are operating to important destinations including Katihar, Kishanganj, New Jalpaiguri, Sonpur, Dauram Madhepura, Agartala, New Tinsukia, SMVT Bengaluru, Amritsar, Patna, Dibrugarh, Gorakhpur, Silchar, Naharlagun, Kolkata, Guwahati, Ranchi, Charalapalli, Mumbai Central, Agra Cantt, Jogbani, Lumding, Howrah, Gomti Nagar, Anand Vihar, and Kamakhya.

On October 22, 2025, several trains are scheduled to run, including the Dibrugarh–Gorakhpur Weekly Special (Train No. 05978), departing from Dibrugarh at 9:10 hours and reaching Gorakhpur at 19:00 hours; the Katihar–Amritsar Weekly Special (Train No. 05736), leaving Katihar at 21:00 hours and arriving in Amritsar at 09:45 hours; and the Katihar–Dauram Madhepura Daily Special (Train No. 07541), departing from Katihar at 19:00 hours and reaching Dauram Madhepura at 22:00 hours. Its return service, the Dauram Madhepura–Katihar Daily Special (Train No. 07542), will leave at 22:45 hours and reach Katihar at 2:30 hours. Meanwhile, the Katihar–Manihari Daily Special (Train No. 07540) will depart from Katihar at 20:30 hours and arrive in Manihari at 21:30 hours, while the Manihari–Katihar Daily Special (Train No. 07539) will leave Manihari at 5:00 hours and reach Katihar at 6:00 hours.

Passengers have been urged to plan their journeys in advance and cooperate with railway authorities to ensure safe, comfortable, and hassle-free travel during the festive season.

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