Holi special trains 2026: Indian Railways to run 1,244 services – Check full list, routes, timings, and key details

Indian Railways has put special arrangements in place to make travel smooth for passengers during the upcoming Holi festival. Since a large number of people travel home during this time, the Railways will run 1,244 Holi Special train trips across different Railway Zones between February 25 and March 18, 2026. If the rush increases further, the number of trips may go up to 1,500, according to an official release.

These special trains will connect major cities, state capitals and important regional centres across the country. On long-distance routes, special trains will run from cities like Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur to destinations such as Danapur, Gorakhpur, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Samastipur and Barauni. 

Similarly, Visakhapatnam, Puri and Bhubaneswar will be connected to Shalimar, Patna, Yesvantpur and Dhanbad. Key cities in Bihar and Jharkhand, including Patna, Darbhanga, Saharsa and Dhanbad, will also get better connectivity to New Delhi, Anand Vihar Terminal, Chandigarh and SMVT Bengaluru, the release mentioned.

In the eastern and northern regions, routes between Howrah, Sealdah, Kolkata and Malda Town will be strengthened with links to Raxaul, Madhubani, Gorakhpur and Anand Vihar Terminal. Stations in the Delhi region will have additional connections to Varanasi, Lucknow, Ayodhya Cantt, Haridwar, Amritsar and Katihar.

From southern India, special trains will connect MGR Chennai Central, Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram North, Coimbatore, Secunderabad, Tirupati and SMVT Bengaluru with northern and eastern cities such as Patna, Barauni, Muzaffarpur, Santragachi, Ajmer and Jaipur. In western India, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Bandra Terminus will have extra services to Kanpur, Katihar, Banaras, Gorakhpur, Darbhanga and Bhagalpur to handle the festive rush.

Check full list of Holi special trains –

Central Railways Holi Special trains

To ensure smooth, safe and comfortable travel during the Holi festival, Central Railway will run several Holi Special trains from major stations such as Mumbai (CSMT and Lokmanya Tilak Terminus), Pune and Nagpur to important destinations in North and East India.

In total, Central Railway will operate 20 Holi Special train services, covering 129 trips. The details are as follows:

East Coast Railway Holi Special Trains

East Central Railway Holi Special Trains

Eastern Railway Holi Special Trains

Northern Railway Holi Special Trains

North Central Railway Holi Special Trains

North Eastern Railway Holi Special Trains

North Frontier Railway Holi Special Trains

South Central Railway (SCR) Holi Special Trains

South Western Railway (SWR) Holi Special Trains

Konkan Railway (KR) Holi Special Trains