Indian Railways To Run 342 Special Trains For 10-Day Ganesh Festival; Schedule, Routes & More Inside

The Indian Railways has decided to run as many as 342 special trains for the upcoming Ganesh festival. Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw made this special announcement ahead of the 10-day-long festivities. The special trains will cater to the lakhs of people travelling to the Konkan region during this festive season. Read on to learn more about these special trains.

Indian Railways To Run 342 Special Trains For Ganesh Festival

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has announced that Indian Railways will run 342 special trains for next month’s Ganesh festival which is starting on September 7. Seeing as lakhs of people travel to their native places in Konkan from Mumbai during this 10-day festival, the railways decided to add these special trains to meet the demand and ensure smoother travel for the devotees.

Anticipating a significant migration from Mumbai to Konkan during the Ganesh festival, the state authorities requested 300 additional trains. However, the railways increased this number to better accommodate the demand. According to a Republic World report, these special trains will ensure a smoother and more convenient journey for the passengers during the festive season. This announcement was made during the flagging off of a new bi-weekly train service connecting Bandra Terminus in Mumbai to Madgaon in Goa.

🚆342 Ganpati Utsav special trains announced. pic.twitter.com/5idoilVdUU

— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) August 29, 2024

Besides the Ganesh festival special trains, Ashwini Vaishnaw also talked about the ongoing infrastructure improvements in Mumbai’s suburban rail network. He talked about 12 major projects like CSMT-Kurla 5th and 6th line, Mumbai Central-Borivali 6th line, and the Panvel-Karjat Suburban Corridor, and how they will benefit commuters in the city.

Also Read: From Kozhikattai To Pulihora, 7 Must-Try South Indian Recipes For A Flavourful Ganesh Chaturthi

Schedule, Routes & Everything You Need To Know About These Trains

The Ganesh festival special train will run between September 1 to 18, 2024. Here is the schedule and route of the Ganesh festival special trains that were announced by the Indian Railways –

1. Mumbai CSMT – Sawantwadi Road Special: This train will run daily. It will depart from Mumbai CSMT at 00:20 hrs and reach Sawantwadi Road at 14:20 hrs on the same day. The same train will return from Sawantwadi Road, starting at 15:10 hrs, and arrive at Mumbai CSMT at 03:45 hrs the next day.

2. Mumbai CSMT – Ratnagiri Special: This train will depart daily from Mumbai CSMT at 11:30 hrs and reach Ratnagiri at 20:10 hrs. The return journey will begin at 04:00 hrs from Ratnagiri. The train will arrive in Mumbai CSMT at 13:30 hrs the same day.

3. Lokmanya Tilak – Kudal Special: This daily train will depart from Lokmanya Tilak Terminus at 21:00 hrs and arrive in Kudal at 09:30 hrs the next day. From Kudal, the train will depart at 12:00 hrs, and arrive at LTT at 00:40 hrs the following day.

4. Lokmanya Tilak – Sawantwadi Road Special: This daily train will be departing from Lokmanya Tilak at 08:20 hrs, and arriving at Sawantwadi Road at 21:00 hrs. For the return journey, the train will leave Sawantwadi Road at 22:20 hrs. It will arrive in Lokmanya Tilak at 10:40 hrs the next day.

5. Diva Jn. – Chiplun MEMU Special: This daily train will depart from Diva Jn. at 07:15 hrs, and arrive in Chiplun at 14:00 hrs. The return journey will start at 15:30 hrs from Chiplun. The arrival at Diva Jn. will be at 22:50 hrs the same day.

Also Read: Bengaluru: Ahead Of Ganesh Chaturthi, Authorities To Ban PoP Idols & Fill Potholes For Processions

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Cover Image Courtesy: Canva & Flickr (representative image)