07 December,2025 12:17 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
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Amid the ongoing IndiGo crisis, the Western Railway has announced the operation of a special superfast train between Mumbai Central and New Delhi to cater to increased passenger demand.
According to Chief Public Relations Officer Vineet Abhishek, the special service will run two trips under Train Nos. 04003 and 04004.
Train No. 04003 Mumbai Central-New Delhi Superfast Special will depart from Mumbai Central on Monday, December 8, 2025, at 11:30 pm, arriving in New Delhi the next day at 8:50 pm.
In the return direction, Train No. 04004 New Delhi-Mumbai Central Superfast Special will leave New Delhi on Sunday, December 7, 2025, at 10:40 pm and reach Mumbai Central at 9:00 pm the following day.
The train will halt at Borivali, Surat, Vadodara, Ratlam, Nagda, Kota, and Mathura in both directions. It will consist of AC 3-Tier (Economy) coaches.
Bookings for Train No. 04003 are now open at all Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counters and on the IRCTC website. Passengers can visit www.enquiry.indianrail.gov.in for detailed information on halts, timings and coach composition.
Meanwhile, the Western Railway zone of Indian Railways is running multiple special trains amid the IndiGo flight cancellations.
Railway Public Relations Officer Ajay Solanki said that they are adding extra coaches to regular trains in order to facilitate passengers. He requested the passengers to take advantage of these services and reach the station earlier to board the train.
"Considering the needs of the passengers, the Western Railways have decided to run special trains. Sabarmati-Delhi special train will be run on 7th and 9th December at 10.55 PM and will reach Delhi the next day at 3.15 PM... Another train, Sabarmati-Delhi Sarai Rohilla, will start on 7th December at 5.30 AM and reach Delhi Sarai Rohilla at 11 PM... The passengers are requested to take advantage of these services... They are also asked to arrive at the railway station half an hour earlier due to possible traffic delays... We will also add extra coaches to the trains to the regular trains- an AC 3-tier coach will be added to Ahmedabad-Thawe junction; 2nd Class AC coach will be added to Swarna Jayanti Rajdhani Express; sleeper coach will be added to Sabarmati-Jammu Tawi Express," the railway official said.
Since last week, the civil aviation industry in India has been hit by massive disruptions, with cancellations, severe delays, and the rescheduling of many flights by IndiGo, primarily due to a sudden shortage of pilots and crew following the implementation of revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms issued by the DGCA last year.
This has led to thousands of passengers facing significant inconvenience, long queues, and inadequate facilities, with some stranded at the airport for hours. Passengers have also urged the airline to provide timely updates and support to minimise inconvenience.
According to airport data accessed on Saturday, several major hubs reported significant cancellations by IndiGo.
