Kamal Ghorui
To handle the surge in passenger travel during the upcoming Holi festival, Indian Railways has announced plans to operate more than 1,410 Holi special trains across its network, with the number expected to go up to 1,500 services. As per the press release by the Ministry of Railways, the special trains will run throughout March, a peak travel period as people head home to celebrate the festival with family. The initiative is in a bid to provide improved travel connections between key cities and popular routes, by easing congestion on normal services. For perspective, the number of special train trips being planned by Indian Railways on Holi 2025 stood at 1,144 making this year’s proposed operations more than double.
Zone-wise deployment of Holi special trains
Of all zones, the East Central Railway (ECR) will run the maximum number of Holi special trains, which is precisely 285, to handle heavy rush of passengers over the eastern and north-central network. This is followed by the Western Railway (WR) with 231 trains and the Central Railway (CR) with 209 services, both catering to dense intercity and long-distance travel corridors. The South Central Railway has planned to run 160 Holi special trains, and the Northern Railway will operate 108 Holi special trains, mainly for northern states where Holi celebrations are widespread. The other zones have also developed substantial capacities:North Western Railway (NWR): 71 trainsNorth Central Railway (NCR): 66 trainsNorth Eastern Railway (NER): 62 trainsEast Coast Railway (ECOR): 62 trainsSouth Western Railway (SWR): 47 trainsWest Central Railway (WCR): 43 trainsSouthern Railway (SR): 39 trainsSouth East Central Railway (SECR): 15 trainsIn addition, the Konkan Railway (KR) will operate 9 special trains, while the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has planned 2 services to meet regional travel requirements.
Focus on smoother festive travel
Holi is usually the busiest travel period for Indian Railways, when a large number of passengers travel from metros and their work hubs to their hometowns. Taking into consideration the festive rush of passengers during the upcoming holiday season and anticipating demand for travel would increase on specific routes, the special train services will be put into place to ensure that passengers can be accommodated easily. Officials said the railways remain focused on passenger convenience, safety, and efficient operations during major festivals, and additional services may be introduced if booking trends indicate further demand in the coming weeks.
