Trains carry some of the burden, help 6k passengers
Times of India | 10 December 2025
Kolkata: Railways came to the rescue of passengers affected by the Indigo meltdown. Between Eastern and South-Eastern Railways, at least 6,000 stranded flyers travelled from Kolkata to places like Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Guwahati since Saturday.
"During the last week, we noticed a sudden surge in the waiting lists of key South-Eastern Railway trains connecting Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Bengaluru. Rising to the need of the hour, special trains were provided wherever extra rolling stock was available," Soumitra Majumdar, AGM, SER, said.
"Couldn't believe my luck when I managed to get an AC-III berth on Saturday, in a special train to attend a job interview in Delhi on Monday," said Aniruddha Pal, whose Indigo ticket was cancelled. ER earned 31% more than it did in the same period last year.
"Since flyers are not expected to travel in unreserved or sleeper coaches, it was deduced that those occupying the AC-II and AC-III berths were passengers affected by the airline crisis," an official said. Until Tuesday, SER carried around 8,000 passengers, of which around 3,000 travelled in AC coaches, officials said.
"To help the distressed travellers, from Saturday to Tuesday, ER created 110 extra coaches with 7,992 berths," said Uday Shankar Jha, principal chief commercial manager, ER. Since Saturday, ER ran three special trains in the Howrah-New Delhi sector, two in the Sealdah-Mumbai sector, one in the Howrah-Jodhpur sector, and another between Sealdah and Kamakhya via Guwahati.
SER ran two special trains from Howrah to Mumbai on Saturday and Tuesday, another from Santragachhi to Yelahanka on Sunday, and three special trains in the Shalimar-Chalapalli. "To meet the demand in the Ranchi pocket, from this week, Garib Rath Express (Ranchi-New Delhi) has been made daily," said Majumdar. On Wednesday and Friday, SER will run Santragachhi-Yelahanka special trains. Two more specials will operate from Howrah to Mumbai on Thursday and Saturday.