Mumbai’s railway divisions are gearing up for Ganesh Chaturthi this August with the deployment of 262 special trains to Konkan, a move expected to significantly ease festival travel and ensure commuter convenience. With the celebrations beginning on 27 August 2025, both Central and Western Railway zones have activated robust services to meet surging passenger demand.
The Central Railway will operate 192 additional trains to key Konkan stations—including Sawantwadi Road, Kudal, Ratnagiri and Pernem—while the Western Railway is launching 70 dedicated services. Each route has been meticulously planned to decongest platforms at city hubs and improve accessibility to coastal pilgrimage centres. According to railway officials, the additional services are strategically split to best serve travellers. Forty of the Central Railway trains will connect Lokmanya Tilak Terminus and Sawantwadi Road, with 24 services linking Panvel and Kudal, 20 between Panvel and Sawantwadi Road, and 36 between Lokmanya Tilak Terminus and Kudal. Trains between Lokmanya Tilak Terminus and Ratnagiri will number 24, eight will serve Thane to Kudal and Sawantwadi Road, eight will run between Lokmanya Tilak Terminus and Pernem, and six will operate on the Pune to Sawantwadi Road route.
From the Western corridor, 26 services will run between Bandra Terminus and Madgaon, with 22 trains each for the Bandra–Valsad–Sawantwadi Road and Bandra–Valsad–Kudal routes. These align with increased interstate pilgrimage flows and provide eco-friendly travel during peak festival seasons. Railway planners emphasise that this expansion supports sustainability agendas by shifting more travellers from road to rail, reducing carbon emissions, and minimising congestion. Trains offer higher passenger throughput per trip compared to buses and private vehicles, reinforcing equitable and climate-conscious urban transit models.
Ticket bookings are already live on the IRCTC portal and at authorised booking centres. Officials encourage commuters to plan and book early to avoid last-minute hassles. They also advise travellers to check schedules and halts via official platforms such as railway websites and the NTES app, ensuring smooth travel. Regional railway authorities noted that the special trains will include additional halts in response to demand and are adjusted dynamically to accommodate crowd patterns. On-the-ground staff in Konkan stations have been briefed to assist boarding and deboarding, particularly for female, elderly, and differently-abled passengers—a nod to gender-sensitive, inclusive service delivery.
Transport experts suggest that this temporary surge in service capacity demonstrates how targeted rail planning can significantly alleviate mobility pressures during peak cultural events. It also highlights the potential for longer-term adoption of dynamic, demand-driven scheduling even outside festival periods. As Mumbai prepares for a wave of Ganesh devotees heading to coastal shrines, the railways’ efforts to augment services reflect a broader push towards sustainable, equitable, and efficient public transport. The special train network is expected not only to enhance journey comfort but also to underpin a greener travel approach for the city’s festive surge.
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