Assam: 620 trips of special trains operated by NFR for festive rush
Guwahati, October 21
General Manager of Northeast Frontier Railway, Chetan Kumar Shrivastava, on Tuesday addressed the press at Guwahati Railway station, on special arrangements by the Northeast Frontier Railway to meet the surge in passenger demand during the ongoing festive season, and the upcoming Chhath Puja.
He said, "Indian Railways (IR) has made extensive arrangements to meet the surge in passenger demand during the ongoing festive season. To ensure smooth travel during Puja, Diwali, and Chhath, Indian Railways is operating 12,011 special trains, a significant increase from 7,724 trains during the same period last year. In the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) zone, 48 special festival trains are running, covering a total of 620 trips across various routes from September to December 2025."
"Special arrangements have been made at major stations like Katihar, New Jalpaiguri, Guwahati, Jogbani, and Kishanganj, including holding areas, passenger announcement systems, fans, additional ticket counters, and automatic ticket vending machines to ensure smooth passenger movement," he added.
Round-the-clock war rooms and additional staff, including RPF personnel, have been deployed for effective crowd management and passenger assistance.
Special trains are operating to key destinations such as Katihar, Kishanganj, New Jalpaiguri, Sonpur, Dauram Madhepura, Agartala, New Tinsukia, SMVT Bengaluru, Amritsar, Patna, Dibrugarh, Gorakhpur, Silchar, Naharlagun, Kolkata, Guwahati, Ranchi, Charalapalli, Mumbai Central, Agra Cantt, Jogbani, Lumding, Howrah, Gomti Nagar, Anand Vihar, Kamakhya and many others.
On October 22, 2025, trains scheduled include:
Train No. 05978 Dibrugarh - Gorakhpur (Weekly Special), which will depart from Dibrugarh at 9:10 hours and arrive at Gorakhpur at 19:00 hours.
Train No. 05736 Katihar - Amritsar (Weekly Special) will depart from Katihar Jn. at 21:00 hours and arrive at Amritsar Jn at 09:45 hrs.
Train No. 07541 Katihar - Dauram Madhepura (Daily Special) will depart from Katihar at 19:00 hours and arrive at Dauram Madhepura at 22:00 hours.
Train No. 07542 Dauram Madhepura - Katihar (Daily Special) will depart from Dauram Madhepura at 22:45 hours and arrive at Katihar at 2:30 hours.
Train No. 07540 Katihar - Manihari (Daily Special) will depart from Katihar at 20:30 hours and arrive at Manihari at 21:30 hours.
Train No. 07539 Manihari - Katihar (Daily Special) will depart from Manihari at 5:00 hours and arrive at Katihar at 6:00 hours.
Passengers are advised to plan their journeys in advance and cooperate with railway staff to ensure safe and comfortable travel during the festive season.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Good initiative but the implementation needs improvement. I traveled last week from New Jalpaiguri and the additional ticket counters were still not enough. Long queues and confusion prevailed. Hope they learn and improve for Diwali rush.
The special train to SMVT Bengaluru is a game-changer for Northeastern students like me! Finally, we can go home for festivals without spending a fortune on flights. Thank you Indian Railways! 🚄✨
As a regular traveler in NFR zone, I appreciate the war rooms and additional RPF staff. The festive season brings huge crowds and safety is a major concern. Good to see proactive measures being taken.
The detailed schedule is very helpful for planning. I'm traveling from Katihar to Amritsar next week and this information helps me coordinate with family. More such transparency please!
While the special trains are welcome, the basic amenities at smaller stations like Jogbani and Kishanganj need upgrading. Fans and announcement systems are good, but what about clean toilets and drinking water? That's equally important during festival travel.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.