By Imteshal Karim

Copyright odishatv

Indian Railways has rolled out an extensive plan to handle the surge in passenger traffic during the upcoming festive season announcing a total of 1126 special train services for Diwali and Chhath Puja.
The move led by Central Railway combines 944 services announced earlier with an additional 182 trains added this week to meet unprecedented demand on busy routes.
Central Railwayrsquos Festive Train Operations
Central Railway will operate the bulk of the services connecting Mumbai Pune and surrounding hubs with destinations across northern and eastern India. The additional trains will run between September and December ensuring passengers travelling home for Diwali and Chhath Puja have more options.
Key routes include
Lokmanya Tilak Terminus LTT to Danapur 40 services
LTT to Mau 40 services
LTT to Banaras 40 services
LTT to Karimnagar 6 services
Pune to Amravati 16 services
Pune to Sanganer via Superfast and Bi-Weekly services 40 services
Services will make multiple round-trip trips with some operating twice a week until early December. For example the LTTndashDanapur Bi-Weekly Special will run from September 27 to December 3 while the PunendashAmravati Weekly Special will operate between October 7 and November 26.
Nationwide Expansion Of Festival Trains
The festive calendar is not limited to Central Railway. Indian Railways had earlier announced over 2000 special trips across zones between September 21 and November 30 to cover Durga Puja Diwali and Chhath Puja.
These include 684 trips under Southern Railway from Hyderabad Secunderabad and Vijayawada 588 trips under East Central Railway through Patna Gaya and Darbhanga and nearly 200 services from Eastern Railway through Kolkata Sealdah and Howrah.
Southern Railway has also announced MaduraindashBarauni Festival Special trains offering direct connectivity between Tamil Nadu and Bihar for migrant workers and families. Other zones such as Western East Coast South Eastern and North Central Railways have introduced similar festival schedules to address demand in states like Uttar Pradesh Bihar Odisha and Jharkhand.
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Ticket Bookings And Travel Arrangements
Bookings for key Central Railway trains including the LTTndashDanapur LTTndashMau LTTndashBanaras LTTndashKarimnagar PunendashAmravati and PunendashSanganer services opened on September 14 via IRCTC and reservation counters. Unreserved tickets are available through the UTS system at normal Mail/Express rates.
Railway officials have urged passengers to plan their journeys early as waitlists for AC and Sleeper classes tend to climb rapidly during Diwali and Chhath. Passengers are advised to visit the railways and IRCTC websites for accurate and latest details on train schedules.