Ganpati rush: Central Railway's 262 special trains see 1.17 lakh bookings

Central Railway is gearing up for the upcoming Ganpati festival rush, having already registered over 1.17 lakh bookings on its special train services. The zonal railway will operate a total of 262 special trips, split between 200 reserved and 62 unreserved services, to cater to the expected surge in passenger movement.

The reserved specials include fully air-conditioned trains as well as those with a mix of AC, Sleeper and General coaches. These services will depart from Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur, heading towards various destinations in the Konkan region of Maharashtra and Goa.

According to Dr. Swapnil Nila, Chief Public Relations Officer of Central Railway, the 200 reserved trips comprise 112 to-and-fro services to Sawantwadi Road, 64 to Ratnagiri and 24 to Madgaon. Bookings for these trains, which begin operations on September 9, 2026, have already touched 1,17,682 passengers.

To manage the festive crowd, the railway has issued an advisory urging passengers to arrive at stations at least 30 minutes before departure. Additional ticket counters and designated holding areas have been set up at major stations. Queue management systems will be in place for orderly boarding, and extra Railway Protection Force (RPF) and ticket-checking staff will be deployed at key locations.

Passengers have been asked to travel only with valid tickets and identification documents. Drinking water, food and toilet facilities will be available at selected spots with NGO assistance. For schedules and halts, passengers can check the Indian Railways enquiry website or the NTES app, while unreserved tickets can be purchased via the UTS system or the RailOne app.