Best Trains to Ayodhya for Ram Navami 2026
Last year a friend of mine tried booking trains to Ayodhya four days before Ram Navami. Every decent option was either full or waitlisted past 60. Eventually arriving meant riding a broken-down private bus out of Lucknow, stalled briefly close to Barabanki. Peaceful beginnings were not part of this yatra, despite earlier hopes. All of this could have been avoided, if he chose trains to Ayodhya.
Ram Navami 2026 is on 26th March 2026. I’m writing this in early March, which means you still have time to reach Ayodhya for Ram Navami. Not a lot of time but enough, if you move now. This Ram Navami, choose a journey through Ayodhya’s revered temple dedicated to Lord Rama. Experience its quiet strength amid morning light. Because tradition lives quietly here, beyond grand gestures, shaped by daily acts of faith.
Trains to Ayodhya: two stations, one city
Station names can mislead travelers. Trains arrive at Ayodhya Dham Junction, marked AY on schedules. There is another Railway Station called Ayodhya Cantt, coded AYC. These spots sit apart from each other. Booking without checking causes problems later. Always verify the correct stop during ticket searches. I’ve seen people show up at the wrong one.
Best Trains to Ayodhya From Major Cities
Delhi to Ayodhya
On the Delhi to Ayodhya route, two trains run daily. These are: Ayodhya Express (14206) and Kaifiyat Express (12226). Ayodhya Express leaves New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS) at 06:20 PM and reaches Ayodhya Cantt Station at 06:20 in the morning. Train timings are interesting here. The second train, Kaifiyat Express leaves a little later at 08:25 PM and reaches AY at around 7 in the morning. Kaifiyat Express is actually faster than Ayodhya Express. Both of these trains are suited for passenger who want to board the train at night, sleep on the train and wake up at the Ayodhya Dham Junction.
There is also the Vande Bharat Express (22426), running between the Delhi to Ayodhya route almost daily except on Wednesday. The train leaves Anand Vihar Terminal at around 6 in the morning and by the afternoon around two and half, you will be at Ayodhya Cantt.
Mumbai to Ayodhya
Three trains connect Mumbai to Ayodhya train route. These are: Saket Express (22183), Tulsi Express (22129) and Lokmanya Tilak Ayodhya Express (22103). Saket Express runs on Wednesday and Saturday, Tulsi Express runs on Tuesdays and Sundays while the Lokmanya Tilak Ayodhya Express runs on Monday only. These trains take around 25-30 hours to reach from the Lokmanya Tilak Railway Station to the Ayodhya Cantt
Honest story to be told, there aren’t as many trains as there should have been on Mumbai to Ayodhya trains. There are three trains operating on this route, but still passengers won’t be able to travel on Thursdays and Fridays as there are no direct trains on this route on these days.
Lucknow to Ayodhya
Lucknow to Ayodhya is a train journey of about 2-3 hours. Trains like Ayodhya Express (14206) and Kaifiyat Express (12226) run daily. There are other trains like Sabarmati Express (19167), Marudhar Express (14854) and the fastest among these is the Vande Bharat Express (22426).
Patna to Ayodhya
Vande Bharat Express (22345) runs from Patna Junction (PNBE) to the Ayodhya Dham Junction. The trains dpearts at 6 in the morning and reaches Ayodhya by 12 noon. The journey is completed in just 6 hours. Although other trains are not this fast, many trains take just about 8 hours to reach Ayodhya from Patna.
PNBE Kota Express (13237), Kamakhya Bhagat Ki Kothi Express (15624) and Patna – Indore Express (19322) are some of the other trains connecting this Patna to Ayodhya train route. However, these trains don’t run daily and run on certain specific dates. You can check the specific dates of operation of these trains using the train schedule service.
Timing your trip
Ram Navami is on March 26 2026. Crowds build from the 22nd. Return rush runs from the 27th to 30th. March 24 is when I’d arrive if I could. The 25th works too. The mandir is accessible, the ghats have breathing room, and you experience Ayodhya before it completely transforms, rather than landing in the middle of it. The day of crowd on the 26th is something else entirely: magnificent, chaotic, exhausting. Worth seeing. Just don’t plan to be comfortable.
Tatkal ticket booking window is available 24 hours before departure but don’t count on it for this route during this week. It’s expensive and it runs out. Book standard class early.
Check Your PNR Status
The Ten digits on your ticket is called the PNR Number. Enter it on RailMitra platform and you’ll see confirmed, RAC, or waitlist status. If you’re waitlisted, keep checking. 3AC and 2AC both see significant cancellations in the 48 hours before departure. People genuinely do cancel at the last minute for all sorts of reasons. WL/15, WL/20, these confirm more often than you’d expect. I saw it happen at 11 PM the night before.
How to Check PNR Status?
You can easily check PNR Status using the RailMitra platform. RailMitra is accessible through its website at RailMitra.com or through train applications available at both the Google Play Store as well as Apple App Store.
Just follow these simple and easy steps:
- Go to RailMitra.com or install the dedicated application.
- Select PNR Status option.
- Enter your 10-digit PNR number.
- Hit Check PNR Status.
Check Your Live status
Put your train number into RailMitra’s portal, it shows you where the train is right now. Check an hour before you leave home. Trains coming up from Mumbai into UP during festival week run late routinely: 45 minutes, sometimes more. Finding this out at home is different from finding it out at the platform.
How to check Train Running Live Status?
You can easily check train running live status using RailMitra’s website or application available on both Android and iOS. Just follow these simple and easy steps:
- Go to RailMitra.com or install the application.
- Select Train Live Status option.
- Enter Train No./Name and Train Starting Date.
- Click on check Live Status.
You would be able to access your train running live status.
How to Get Food on Trains to Ayodhya
Pilgrims taking various trains to Ayodhya suffer from a common problem: how to get food in train. Most individuals and families are too busy packing and planning for the journey that they rarely get the time to prepare the food in advance. Even if they did they would be forced to consume the cold and stale meals.
Passengers can then opt for pantry cars or food through station vendors. However, you can never be sure of the quality. Devotees in such scenarios can choose the superior RailMitra to book seamless food in train.
With RailMitra passengers can also book group food in train with pre booking facilities available. You can also book pure veg food in train at RailMitra if you strictly avoid meat based food items. People who follow Lord Ram usually incline towards the Vaishnavit philosophy which strictly prohibits eating non-vegetarian food items.
On the Day of Travel
Reach the station 45 minutes early. The coach chart goes up a couple of hours before departure at major stations and on RailMitra. Find your coach position before you start walking. 24 coaches is a lot of platform distance to be wrong about.
Group travel tip that sounds obvious until it isn’t: pick one person to track PNR, one person to track live status. On a crowded platform with a bad signal, four people searching for the same thing simultaneously helps nobody.
Why trains to Ayodhya are still the right call
Flying gets you to Lucknow. Then you need a cab, two hours minimum, during a week when every cab driver knows exactly what the traffic is like and prices accordingly. You’re not saving as much time as you think.
Train fare is a fraction of airfare. You arrive at Ayodhya directly. And there’s something about the last few hours of a train journey toward Ayodhya, the light changing, the landscape flattening, other passengers getting quieter or more animated depending on who they are, that an airport cab just doesn’t give you. Can’t explain it better than that. But if you’ve done it, you know what I mean.