Your Guide to the Diwali Rush
Every year, millions of people travel across the country to celebrate Diwali with their families, leading to a massive surge in demand for train tickets. Key routes connecting major cities like Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru to states such as Uttar Pradesh,
Bihar, West Bengal, and Rajasthan become incredibly congested. Regular trains get booked out months in advance, leaving many travellers on long waitlists. To ease this pressure, various zones of Indian Railways, including Northern, Central, and Southern Railways, announce special train services that run during the festive period of October and November. These trains provide much-needed additional capacity on high-demand corridors.
How to Find Special Trains
Finding these special services is the first step to securing a seat. The most reliable sources are the official Indian Railways channels. Bookings can be made via the IRCTC website (irctc.co.in), the IRCTC Rail Connect app, and at computerised reservation counters at stations. To check for announcements, you can follow the official social media handles of the Ministry of Railways and zonal railways, like Northern Railway. For tracking real-time information, including schedules and train status, the National Train Enquiry System (NTES) app is an essential tool. Special trains are often identifiable by their train numbers, which typically start with a '0' or a '9'. When searching on IRCTC, make sure to look for these specific services running on your desired route.
Major Routes for Diwali 2026
For 2026, Indian Railways has announced hundreds of special services. Central Railway is running 418 special services connecting Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur to destinations across the country, including Gorakhpur, Chennai, and various cities in Bihar. Similarly, Northern Railway has announced services on high-demand routes like Varanasi-Delhi, Ayodhya Cantt-Anand Vihar, Chandigarh-Patna, and Firozpur Cantt-Patna. Southern Railway has also rolled out special trains, including services connecting Kanpur Central with SMVT Bengaluru and Chennai Egmore with Kollam. These trains will run on specific days between October and November to cater to the festive rush for both Diwali and Chhath Puja.
What If Direct Trains Are Full?
Even with special trains, tickets can sell out within hours. If you find yourself on a waitlist, there are still a few strategies you can try. One option is to look for 'same train alternates'. This involves booking a ticket from a station before your boarding point or to a station after your destination. Since seat quotas are divided by station, you might find a confirmed seat available for a different segment of the same journey. You can still board and de-board at your preferred stations. Another strategy is to try booking a 'break journey', where you book two separate connecting trains instead of one direct one. This can sometimes open up confirmed seats on routes that appear full.
Last-Minute and Alternative Options
If advance bookings don't work out, the Tatkal quota is a last-minute option. Tatkal bookings open one day before the train's departure, at 10 AM for AC classes and 11 AM for non-AC classes. The competition is extremely high, so you need to be logged into the IRCTC app or website and ready with all passenger details saved in a master list to book quickly. If train travel seems impossible, consider other modes of transport. State-run and private bus operators often run extra services during Diwali. While more expensive, flights can sometimes have last-minute availability, and carpooling has become a viable option for many on popular routes. The key is to have a backup plan ready and not rely solely on a single mode of travel.
