Western Railway will operate four unreserved special train services between Ahmedabad and Jhanjharpur in Bihar to manage the additional passenger demand expected during Diwali and Chhath Puja, according to a report by Gujarat Samachar – Ahmedabad published on 5 November 2026.
The weekly special service will run under train numbers 09437 and 09438. Services from Ahmedabad are scheduled to depart on 6 and 13 November, while trains from Jhanjharpur will leave on 8 and 15 November. The four trips are intended to provide additional capacity on a route used by passengers travelling from Gujarat to Bihar during the festive period.
The service will be completely unreserved, meaning passengers will travel in general coaches without confirmed reserved berths. The arrangement is aimed at travellers who may otherwise struggle to obtain confirmed tickets during one of the busiest annual travel periods. The report describes the train as a special-fare service, although it does not provide the fare structure, departure timings or coach composition.
The train will stop at a long list of stations in both directions. In Gujarat, the listed stops include Anand and Chhayapuri, followed by Godhra and Dahod. The service will then travel through Ratlam, Nagda, Ujjain, Sehore and Sant Hirdaram Nagar in Madhya Pradesh, with further stops at Vidisha, Bina, Damoh, Katni Murwara and Satna.
The route will also connect passengers with Manikpur, Prayagraj Chheoki, Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction, Buxar, Ara, Danapur and Patliputra. In Bihar, the listed stations include Sonpur, Hajipur, Muzaffarpur, Samastipur, Darbhanga and Sakri, before the service reaches Jhanjharpur.
Seasonal special trains are used by the railways to add temporary capacity during periods when demand rises sharply around major festivals. For passengers, an unreserved service can offer another travel option when reserved trains are full, but boarding and seating will remain subject to general-coach capacity and railway operating procedures. Western Railway has not provided, in the supplied report, further details on the train’s timings, rake composition or the process for purchasing the special-fare tickets.
The first Ahmedabad-bound service is scheduled for 6 November, followed by the second on 13 November. Return services from Jhanjharpur are scheduled for 8 and 15 November, completing the four announced trips.
