244 special trains for Christmas and New Year.

In response to the increasing influx of passengers during Christmas and New Year, Indian Railways has started operating special trains. The railways have so far notified a total of 244 special trains across eight zones for the 2025-26 festive season. More special trains will be announced in the coming days. According to the railways, the maximum number of special trains, 76, have been notified for Central Railway, followed by 72 for Western Railway. South Central Railway has scheduled 26, South East Central Railway 24, South Western Railway 28, Northern Railway eight, North Western Railway six, and Northeast Frontier Railway four.

In response to the high demand for passengers on the Mumbai-Goa (Konkan) corridor, daily and weekly special trains are being operated between Mumbai CSMT/LTT and Karmali and Madgaon. These trains have additional sleeper and seating arrangements as well as stoppages at major stations. Special services are also being operated on other routes in Maharashtra, including Mumbai-Nagpur and Pune-Sanganer, to decongest regular trains.

Special trains are also being operated on busy routes connecting Delhi, Howrah, Lucknow, and cities around North and East India to facilitate long-distance travel. Additional services have been introduced in South and Central India connecting cities like Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Mangalore.

According to railway authorities, multiple trips are being operated on routes like CSMT-Karmali, LTT-Thiruvananthapuram, Pune-Sanganer, and CSMT-Nagpur. The railways say that the operation of these special trains will provide passengers with additional capacity, comfort, and convenience, allowing them to celebrate Christmas and New Year without travel hassles.