Indian Railways to Run Special Trains for Diwali and Chhath Puja
Railways is an indispensable part of Indian infrastructure. Indian Railways is the fourth largest rail network in the world. Through its wider network of tracks and hi-tech engines, it threads metro cities, districts and villages into one and represents itself as a valuable Government asset to India. The festival of Diwali witnesses a mad rush of passengers on the platform who are ready to travel in train to their hometown for celebrations. It is the season where religious values overrides the tension from our mind. It’s the festival where the Indians are submerged with extreme devotion towards the almighty. Every Indian think of going to their native land to celebrate the two of the most religious festivals of nation. They are Diwali and Chhath Puja.
Diwali is the festival of lights celebrated with great pomp and show. The crackers, box of sweets heaped on the table, gifts, and authentic dishes are the stars in every household. The celebration commences with a hectic shopping of puja materials, sweets, prasad, and lighting stuffs like Diya, candles and electronic lights and ends by Lakshmi puja, bursting of crackers and visiting relatives for gift exchange. It’s one of the most prominent festivals where light has an historic importance. It also denotes the victory over evil and malicious power. It’s the India’s biggest and most important holiday of the year, where people throng at railway stations to board the next possible train to reach their home as soon as possible. The flickering lights, crackers, good food, gifts, happy faces and meeting relatives after a long time are some factors which attract every commuter staying far away from their native and urges them to reach their home for the festivity. Diwali is to be celebrated on 7th of November in 2018, but the date changes every year as per the Hindu calendar.
Another festival which is celebrated at every location of Bihar and soon became popular at national and international level is the chhath puja. Chhath puja is an ancient Hindu festival where the god of light, energy and life force is worshipped to promote wellbeing, prosperity and good health. It’s the much-awaited festival for every north Indians which is celebrated after Diwali on Kartik Shukla Paksha. The devotes, especially in the region of Bihar and Uttar-Pradesh celebrates Chhath puja with extreme divinity and religious sanctity. The Chhath enthusiasts keep a fast for two long days and worship Sun God in two phases. The first phase is in the sunset during evening and the second phase is the next morning when sun arises. It’s a festival to rejoice the dedication and devotedness towards the Sun who provide energy to earth and the living beings.
Every year, Indian Railways has to manage the extra rush of passengers ready with their bag packs to travel. Some of them forcefully travel in general class as they are deprived from confirm tickets of sleeper or AC class. Some passengers board the train with the waitlist or RAC tickets and raises their eyebrow to express their dissatisfaction and difficulty by traveling in such condition with no confirmed seats. However, this is not the situation anymore. Indian Railways has announced puja special trains which will run effectively on tracks at their scheduled time, thus resolving the ticket issues and confirm seat of the passenger. IR will ensure passengers a comfortable and hassle-free journey during this extra rush period. There are many special trains to hit the track from November’2018, the ticket for which can be booked either physically on the ticket counters at stations or online via IRCTC.
Tip: If you are booking tickets online, check the travel insurance option. Many of us are unaware of the fact that IR provide insurance coverage to the passengers travelling with confirm tickets.
Recommended Read:Travel insurance rules by IRCTC.
Indian Railways is operating special trains from Delhi, Anand Vihar and Hazrat Nizamuddin to Gorakhpur, Darbhanga, Gaya, Barauni, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, Jayanagar, Pune and Patna. Following are the details of special trains to run on tracks by Indian railways to manage the enormous rush at platforms with travellers hoping for a comfortable and festive journey.
Special trains for Diwali and Chhath
Anand Vihar-Jayanagar- AC Special Express:
A special AC train is already introduced by the Indian Railways from 23rd October running from Anand Vihar railway station to Jayanagar station. Passengers travelling to Bihar needn’t worry for tickets. You can book your ticket online or via ticket counter. The train will depart from Anand Vihar at 00.10 hrs on every Tuesday and the returning train 04041 will depart from Jayanagar at 01.35 hrs on every Wednesday. It has halts at major stations like Kanpur, Allahabad, bakhtiyarpur, Barauni, darbhanga and Madhubani. Passengers travelling to Bihar can easily board this train to avoid any inconvenience. Check the train running status on a regular basis before boarding the train.
New Delhi-Barauni-New Delhi AC Special Express:
Running with two train numbers 04403 and 04404, this express train is a Bi-Weekly AC Express Special train which departs from New Delhi junction on every Tuesday and Friday at 07:25 PM and reaches Barauni next day at 06:50 PM. The major halts of the train are Moradabad, Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Siwan, Haripur, Muzaffarpur, and Samastipur. Commuting to Bihar from New Delhi is comfortable with confirm seat/berth.
Hazrat Nizamuddin-Pune- AC Super-Fast Express:
This AC super fast express train has started from 18th Oct’18. The train 4418 will leave from H. Nizamuddin every Tuesday at 21.35 hrs and train number 04417 will leave from Pune at 05.15 hrs on every Thursday. Check PNR status regularly, if you receive a waitlist or RAC ticket. The tickets with these statuses get confirmed after the final chart is prepared.
Anand Vihar-Bhagalpur-Anand Vihar Special Express:
The Anand Vihar- Bhagalpur special express train no. 04002 will depart from Anand Vihar at 16.55 hrs on every Thursday and Train 04001 will leave from Bhagalpur at 17.30 hrs on every Friday. The train has started to run from 18thOct. Book your tickets now.
Delhi Jn-Muzaffarpur Jn- Express:
Train no. 04030 is a bi-weekly train which departs from Delhi junction at 13.45 pm on every Wednesday and Saturday and train 04029 will depart from Muzaffarpur at 14.30 hrs on every Thursday and Sunday. The train has already started to hit the tracks from October 18.
Anand Vihar-Patna AC Express Special:
The train has already started to run from October 20. Train number 04022 will depart from Anand Vihar at 00.10 hrs and return back from Patna at 14.10 hrs every Saturday.
Anand Vihar-Gorakhpur- Special Express:
Train no. 04046 Anand Vihar will depart from Anand Vihar at 22.20 hrs every Saturday starting from 20th October and train 04045 will depart from Gorakhpur at 17.25 hrs on every Sunday starting from October 21st.
Delhi Jn.-Darbhanga- AC Special Express:
This AC special express train is a bi-weekly train which will start from 5th Nov. Train number 04024 will depart from New Delhi junction at 11:15 hrs every Monday and Thursday.
Anand Vihar-Gaya- Special Express:
The train will commence running from 4thNov. Train no. 04044 will leave from Anand Vihar at 00.10 hrs and train number 04043 will depart from Gaya at 23.20 hrs on every Sunday.