Indian Railways Launches 244 Festive Special Train Trips to Ease Christmas and New Year Rush
New Delhi, December 18, 2025 — To accommodate the massive surge in travelers for the 2025–26 winter holiday season, Indian Railways has commenced the operation of specialized festive trains, with 244 trips already notified across eight major railway zones. This strategic deployment aims to provide stress-free travel for passengers heading to popular holiday destinations and hometowns during the Christmas and New Year period.
Western Railway currently leads the initiative with 72 notified trips, followed closely by Central Railway with 76 trips, focusing heavily on high-demand corridors like the Mumbai–Goa (Konkan) route, where daily and weekly specials connect Mumbai CSMT and LTT to Karmali and Madgaon. Additional services are bridging major hubs such as Delhi, Howrah, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad, ensuring smooth connectivity for long-distance travelers. Beyond the currently notified schedule, the Ministry of Railways has approved a total of 650 trips to be rolled out in phases, with more notifications expected in the coming days to ensure that capacity meets the evolving demand.