During the summer season of this year, Indian Railways is running 380 special trains, totaling 6,369 trips, to accommodate the convenience of railway travelers and clear the extra rush of passengers. This is an increase of 1,770 more trips compared to the total summer special trains run in 2022, which consisted of 348 trains making 4,599 trips. The average number of trips per train has increased from 13.2 in the previous summer to 16.8 trips per special train this year.
These special trains connect major destinations such as Patna-Secunderabad, Patna-Yesvantpur, Barauni-Muzaffarpur, Delhi-Patna, New Delhi-Katra, Chandigarh-Gorakhpur, Anand Vihar-Patna, Visakhapatnam-Puri-Howrah, Mumbai-Patna, and Mumbai-Gorakhpur.
In terms of coach capacity, these 380 special trains have 25,794 General Coaches and 55,243 Sleeper Coaches. General Coaches can accommodate 100 passengers, while Sleeper Coaches can accommodate 72 passengers in ICF (Integral Coach Factory) coaches and 78 passengers in LHB (Linke Hofmann Busch) coaches.
To cater to the summer rush, all the zonal railways across the country are prepared to run special trips. South Western Railway, primarily serving Karnataka, is running the maximum number of trips this summer with 1,790 trips compared to 779 trips last year. Similarly, Western Railway, catering mainly to Gujarat, has increased its trips from 438 to 1,470. South Central Railway is running 784 trips, an increase of 80 trips from last year. North Western Railway and East Central Railway are running 400 and 380 trips, respectively. Northern Railway has planned 324 trips for this year.
It is important to note that the number of trains and trips may vary throughout the season. The planning and running of special trains are continuously assessed based on inputs from various communication channels, including media reports, social media platforms, the Railway Integrated helpline number 139, and details of waitlisted passengers in the Passenger Reservation System (PRS). The number of trains and trips are adjusted accordingly to meet the demand on specific routes.
Railway authorities are actively monitoring and taking measures to prevent malpractices such as seat cornering, overcharging, and touting activities. The commercial and Railway Protection Force (RPF) staff are vigilant in this regard.