<p>New Delhi: To meet the upcoming festival rush, mainly during Deepavali and <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/chhath-puja">Chhath Puja</a>, Railway Minister <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/ashwini-vaishnaw">Ashwini Vaishnaw</a> on Tuesday said 12,000 special trains will be operated.</p><p>“Last year, we operated 7,500 special trains. This year, we have enhanced our capacity and set a target of 12,000 special trains,” the Minister told reporters here.</p><p>According to Vaishnaw, as of today, notifications for nearly 10,000 special trains have already been issued. For the remaining trains, notification will be issued in the days to come, in line with the demand. Of these, 150 trains will be fully unreserved and kept ready for last-minute operations to cater to sudden spikes in passenger movement, he said.</p>.Railways to run special trains from Bengaluru to Kerala during festive season.<p>The operation of these festival specials will begin on October 1 and continue till November 15, covering the entire festive travel season.<br><br>The Minister assured passengers that the Railways has made elaborate preparations to manage the massive surge in festive travel and that real-time monitoring will be done to ensure smooth and safe operations.<br><br>The Minister also said that the <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/vande-bharat">Vande Bharat</a> sleeper trains will be launched once the second train is ready for regular service.<br><br>One train is ready for launch at Shakur Basti Coaching Depot in Delhi after undergoing trials and testing. The second train is being manufactured and will possibly be ready by October 15, 2025. "Both the trains will be launched together," he said.<br><br>Vaishnaw, along with Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu, briefed the media on the status of the existing and upcoming railway projects in Punjab.</p><p><strong>New Vande Bharat train</strong></p><p>Vaishnaw said the Railway Ministry has also proposed to launch a new Vande Bharat train between New Delhi and Firozpur Cantonment, which will cover the Faridkot, Bhatinda (W), Dhuri, Patiala, Ambala Cantonment, Kurukshetra and Panipat stations. According to the Railways, the train will cover a distance of 486 km between Delhi and Firozpur Cantonment in 6 hours and 40 minutes.<br><br>Highlighting achievements in the trains' running schedules, Vaishnaw said that 29 rail divisions — including Malda, Mysuru, Sealdah, Nagpur and Thiruvananthapuram — have achieved 90 per cent punctuality.</p>
<p>New Delhi: To meet the upcoming festival rush, mainly during Deepavali and <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/chhath-puja">Chhath Puja</a>, Railway Minister <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/ashwini-vaishnaw">Ashwini Vaishnaw</a> on Tuesday said 12,000 special trains will be operated.</p><p>“Last year, we operated 7,500 special trains. This year, we have enhanced our capacity and set a target of 12,000 special trains,” the Minister told reporters here.</p><p>According to Vaishnaw, as of today, notifications for nearly 10,000 special trains have already been issued. For the remaining trains, notification will be issued in the days to come, in line with the demand. Of these, 150 trains will be fully unreserved and kept ready for last-minute operations to cater to sudden spikes in passenger movement, he said.</p>.Railways to run special trains from Bengaluru to Kerala during festive season.<p>The operation of these festival specials will begin on October 1 and continue till November 15, covering the entire festive travel season.<br><br>The Minister assured passengers that the Railways has made elaborate preparations to manage the massive surge in festive travel and that real-time monitoring will be done to ensure smooth and safe operations.<br><br>The Minister also said that the <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/vande-bharat">Vande Bharat</a> sleeper trains will be launched once the second train is ready for regular service.<br><br>One train is ready for launch at Shakur Basti Coaching Depot in Delhi after undergoing trials and testing. The second train is being manufactured and will possibly be ready by October 15, 2025. "Both the trains will be launched together," he said.<br><br>Vaishnaw, along with Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu, briefed the media on the status of the existing and upcoming railway projects in Punjab.</p><p><strong>New Vande Bharat train</strong></p><p>Vaishnaw said the Railway Ministry has also proposed to launch a new Vande Bharat train between New Delhi and Firozpur Cantonment, which will cover the Faridkot, Bhatinda (W), Dhuri, Patiala, Ambala Cantonment, Kurukshetra and Panipat stations. According to the Railways, the train will cover a distance of 486 km between Delhi and Firozpur Cantonment in 6 hours and 40 minutes.<br><br>Highlighting achievements in the trains' running schedules, Vaishnaw said that 29 rail divisions — including Malda, Mysuru, Sealdah, Nagpur and Thiruvananthapuram — have achieved 90 per cent punctuality.</p>
