1,244 Holi Special train trips planned from Feb 25-March 18: Railway Ministry

New Delhi, Feb 25 (PTI) The Railway Ministry on Wednesday said it will operate 1,244 Holi Special train trips across various zones between February 25 and March 18 this year, to facilitate smooth, safe and comfortable travel for passengers.

These special services will connect major cities, state capitals and important regional centres across the country, ensuring confirmed accommodation and reducing congestion on regular trains.

"Indian Railways has made elaborate arrangements to facilitate smooth, safe and comfortable travel for passengers during the upcoming Holi festival," the ministry said in a statement.

It added, "To manage the anticipated surge in passenger traffic, 1,244 Holi Special train trips are to be operated across various railway zones for the Holi period from 25.02.2026 to 18.03.2026. The number may increase up to 1,500 if more demand is observed." Officials said the key long-distance connections include Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur to destinations such as Danapur, Gorakhpur, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Samastipur and Barauni; Visakhapatnam, Puri and Bhubaneswar to Shalimar, Patna, Yesvantpur and Dhanbad; and major Bihar and Jharkhand hubs like Patna, Darbhanga, Saharsa and Dhanbad to New Delhi, Anand Vihar Terminal, Chandigarh and SMVT Bengaluru.

According to the ministry, Eastern and Northern corridors will see enhanced connectivity between Howrah, Sealdah, Kolkata and Malda town with Raxaul, Madhubani, Gorakhpur and Anand Vihar terminal, while Delhi region stations will be linked extensively with Varanasi, Lucknow, Ayodhya Cantonment, Haridwar, Amritsar and Katihar.

"From the South, special services will connect MGR Chennai Central, Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram North, Coimbatore, Secunderabad, Tirupati and SMVT Bengaluru with Patna, Barauni, Muzaffarpur, Santragachi, Ajmer, Jaipur and other northern and eastern centres," the statement said.

"Western India, including Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Bandra Terminus, will have additional links to Kanpur, Katihar, Banaras, Gorakhpur, Darbhanga and Bhagalpur," it added. PTI JP RUK RUK