Kolkata special trains will connect the city and nearby railway stations with destinations including North Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Hyderabad, Rajasthan and Odisha during the upcoming festive season, as Eastern Railway and South Eastern Railway prepare additional services to meet higher passenger demand.
Eastern Railway will operate the Howrah–Lumding Puja Special every Friday from October 16 to November 27. The train will leave Howrah at 7.15am and reach Lumding at 8am the following day. It will depart Lumding at 11am on Saturday and return to Howrah at noon on Sunday.
The Kolkata–New Jalpaiguri Express Puja Special will run every Saturday and Sunday from October 17 to November 29. It will leave Kolkata station at 11.10pm and reach New Jalpaiguri at 10.45am the next day. The Howrah-origin services will stop at Naihati, Bandel, Nabadwip Dham, Katwa, Azimganj, Jangipur Road, New Farakka and Malda.
Eastern Railway will also add services for Navratri, Diwali and Chhath Puja to Raxaul, Patna, Sitamarhi, Gorakhpur, Madhubani and Digha from different stations. The Howrah–Raxaul Puja Special will run every Thursday from October 15 to November 27, leaving Howrah at 11pm and reaching Raxaul at 4.45pm the following day. The return service will leave Raxaul at 5.45pm on Friday.
A second Howrah–Raxaul special, with a different train number, will operate every Saturday from October 17 to November 28. The Sealdah–Patna Puja Special will run from October 13 to November 24, while the Sealdah–Sitamarhi Puja Special will operate from October 16 to November 27. The two services will run on Tuesdays and Fridays respectively.
The Sealdah–Gorakhpur Puja Special will operate every Tuesday and Thursday. The Kolkata–Madhubani Puja Special will run every Tuesday and Friday. Eastern Railway will also operate special trains from Asansol to Patna and Gorakhpur. A Malda–Digha special will run every Saturday from October 17 to November 28, leaving Malda at 1.10pm and reaching Digha at 11pm.
South Eastern Railway will operate a Shalimar–Charlapalli special every Friday and Saturday from October 2 to November 28. Charlapalli is located near Secunderabad. It will also run a Santragachi–Ajmer special every Monday and Tuesday from October 12 to December 31.
The South Eastern Railway services will include both ordinary sleeper and air-conditioned sleeper coaches. Tickets for the special trains will be available online and through railway reservation counters, although the railway authorities have not yet announced the date on which bookings will open.
Railway sources said further services could be considered after reviewing the waiting lists in reserved classes on several routes. Additional coaches may also be attached to selected trains after passenger demand is assessed.
