Central Railway to run 296 Ganpati special trains; adds 44 more ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi, check details

The coaches of the trains will include AC 3-tier, sleeper class, and general second-class coaches. Representational Pic

Central Railway has announced an additional 44 special train services to handle the festive rush during Ganesh Chaturthi, taking the total number of Ganpati Special trains to 296.

Among the new additions are eight bi-weekly services between Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) and Sawantwadi Road. These trains will run on August 28 and 31 and September 4 and 7, both ways. The LTT-Sawantwadi special (Train no. 01131) will depart at 8:45 AM and reach its destination at 10:20 PM on the same day. The return service (Train no. 01132) leaves Sawantwadi Road at 11:20 PM and arrives at LTT by 12:30 PM the next day.

These trains will halt at major Konkan belt stations including Thane, Panvel, Roha, Ratnagiri, Kankavali and Sindhudurg among others. The coaches will include AC 3-tier, sleeper class, and general second-class coaches.

Additionally, Central Railway will operate 36 unreserved MEMU services between Diva and Khed. These will run daily between August 22 and September 9, 18 trips in each direction. The Diva-Khed train will leave at 1:40 PM, while the return service from Khed will depart at 8:00 AM.

Meanwhile, the Diva-Chiplun MEMU service, originally slated for 38 runs, has now been extended to 40 services, running from August 22 to September 10.

Passengers can check train schedules and station halts via enquiry.indianrail.gov.in or the NTES app.

Special trains to Velankanni for annual feast; Check details

Alongside Ganesh Chaturthi arrangements, special trains will run between Vasco Da Gama and Velankanni on select dates to accommodate pilgrims travelling for the annual Velankanni Feast.

Train No. 07361 will depart Vasco Da Gama at 9:55 PM on August 27, September 1 and September 6, reaching Velankanni at 3:45 AM on the third day.

The return service, Train No. 07362, will leave Velankanni at 11:55 PM on August 29, September 3 and September 8, and arrive in Vasco by 3:00 AM on the third day.

These trains will halt at key stations including Madgaon, Hubballi, SMVT Bengaluru, Salem, Thanjavur, and Nagappattinam. The trains will consist of 20 coaches: 2 AC 2-tier, 4 AC 3-tier, 10 Sleeper Class, 2 General and 2 SLR coaches.

For detailed timings and a full list of stops, passengers can visit www.enquiry.indianrail.gov.in.