The Indian Railways will offer a 20 per cent rebate on the base fare of the return journey for passengers booking a round trip starting October 13, according to a Ministry notification.
The scheme applies
to onward travel between October 13 and 26, with the return journey falling between November 17 and December 1. Diwali falls on October 21 and Chhath Pooja on October 28, followed by the peak wedding season.
The scheme aims to spread out passenger traffic during the festive season by incentivising early and structured booking of both onward and return journeys. It encourages balanced utilisation of trains from both directions during periods when one-way demand is much higher.
Tickets must be booked sequentially—the onward ticket first, followed by the return ticket using the connecting journey feature. The offer is valid for the same set of passengers, same class, with confirmed tickets only in both directions. It is also only for the same origin–destination pair, meaning if the onward ticket is from Patna to New Delhi, the return ticket must be from New Delhi back to Patna.
To avail the offer, both onward and return journey tickets must be booked using the same mode—either internet (online) booking, or counter booking at reservation offices.
Passengers will not be entitled for any refund of fare for the tickets booked under this scheme. The scheme will be for all classes and in all trains, including special trains, except trains with Flexi fare.
The ministry also clarified that no modification will be allowed on these tickets in either of the journeys.
“In order to avoid rush, ensure hassle free booking as well as facilitate passengers and redistribute the peak traffic for larger range during peak festival seasons and ensure both side utilisation of trains including special trains it has been decided to formulate an experimental scheme named as round-trip package for festivals rush on discounted fare,” the notification reads.
During October–November 2024, the Railways ran 7,724 special trains to manage festive demand, carrying more than 20 crore passengers. Between October 1 and November 5 alone, 4,521 special trains transported 65 lakh passengers. Both Diwali and Chhath that year fell in the first half of November.
