Indian Railways announces special measures to manage festive rush, 48 festival trains for NFR zone

To ensure smooth and comfortable travel during the festive season, the General Manager of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), Chetan Kumar Shrivastava, addressed the media at the Guwahati Railway Station on Tuesday, outlining the extensive arrangements made by Indian Railways to handle the surge in passenger traffic during Durga Puja, Diwali, and Chhath Puja.

Shrivastava said that Indian Railways has significantly ramped up its operations to meet the increased passenger demand, deploying 12,011 special trains across the country, a sharp rise from 7,724 trains during the same period last year.

Within the Northeast Frontier Railway zone, a total of 48 special festival trains will operate, covering 620 trips between September and December 2025 across multiple routes. These trains are aimed at facilitating passenger movement to key destinations while minimizing congestion during the festive rush.

To enhance commuter convenience, special arrangements have been made at major railway stations, including Katihar, New Jalpaiguri, Guwahati, Jogbani, and Kishanganj. Facilities such as dedicated passenger holding areas, improved announcement systems, extra fans, additional ticket counters, and automatic ticket vending machines have been set up.

Round-the-clock war rooms have been established for real-time monitoring, while additional staff and Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel have been deployed to ensure passenger safety and crowd management.

Highlighting the schedule of upcoming trains, Shrivastava mentioned several key services, including:

Dibrugarh–Gorakhpur Weekly Special (Train No. 05978): Departs Dibrugarh at 9:10 hrs; arrives Gorakhpur at 19:00 hrs.

Katihar–Amritsar Weekly Special (Train No. 05736): Departs Katihar at 21:00 hrs; arrives Amritsar at 09:45 hrs.

Katihar–Dauram Madhepura Daily Special (Train No. 07541): Departs Katihar at 19:00 hrs; arrives Dauram Madhepura at 22:00 hrs.

Return (Train No. 07542): Departs Dauram Madhepura at 22:45 hrs; arrives Katihar at 2:30 hrs.

Katihar–Manihari Daily Special (Train No. 07540): Departs Katihar at 20:30 hrs; arrives Manihari at 21:30 hrs.

Return (Train No. 07539): Departs Manihari at 5:00 hrs; arrives Katihar at 6:00 hrs.

Special trains are being operated to major destinations including Agartala, Dibrugarh, Patna, Kolkata, Ranchi, Howrah, Mumbai Central, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Silchar, Naharlagun, and Kamakhya, among others.

Passengers have been urged to plan their travel in advance and cooperate with railway officials to ensure a safe, convenient, and hassle-free journey during the ongoing festive period.