Indian Railways on Wednesday announced the operation of 1,244 Holi Special train trips across various railway zones to ensure smooth, safe and comfortable travel during the upcoming Holi festival. The special services will run during the peak festive period from February 25 to March 18, 2026, with the number of trips likely to go up to 1,500 depending on passenger demand.
According to the Railways, the additional services have been planned to manage the expected surge in passenger traffic and to reduce congestion on regular trains. The Holi Special trains will connect major cities, state capitals and key regional centres across the country, ensuring better availability of confirmed accommodation for travellers.
The long-distance special services will link major hubs such as Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur with destinations including Danapur, Gorakhpur, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Samastipur and Barauni. Eastern and coastal centres like Visakhapatnam, Puri and Bhubaneswar will be connected to Shalimar, Patna, Yesvantpur and Dhanbad. Several trains will also link Bihar and Jharkhand cities such as Patna, Darbhanga, Saharsa and Dhanbad with New Delhi, Anand Vihar Terminal, Chandigarh and Bengaluru.
Enhanced connectivity has been planned on eastern and northern corridors as well. Stations including Howrah, Sealdah, Kolkata and Malda Town will see additional services to Raxaul, Madhubani, Gorakhpur and Anand Vihar Terminal. The Delhi region will be extensively connected with Varanasi, Lucknow, Ayodhya Cantt, Haridwar, Amritsar and Katihar during the festive period.
From southern India, Holi Special trains will operate from Chennai, Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram, Coimbatore, Secunderabad, Tirupati and Bengaluru towards northern and eastern destinations such as Patna, Barauni, Muzaffarpur, Santragachi, Ajmer and Jaipur. Western India, including Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Bandra Terminus, will have additional links to Kanpur, Katihar, Banaras, Gorakhpur, Darbhanga and Bhagalpur.
All railway zones have been instructed to closely monitor passenger demand and add services wherever required. The Railways said that the special trains have been scheduled across Central, Northern, Eastern, East Central, East Coast, North Eastern, North Frontier, North Western, South Central, South Eastern, South East Central, Southern, South Western, West Central, Western Railways and Konkan Railway.
The large-scale operation of Holi Special trains reflects the Railways’ advance planning to manage festive rush efficiently and minimise inconvenience to passengers.
