In an effort to manage the festive rush for Holi and Dol Yatra (March 3), the Indian Railways has announced the operation of over 1,500 special trains across the country. With the festival of colours set to be celebrated on March 4, 2026, various railway zones, including South Eastern (SER), Eastern (ER), and Northeast Frontier (NFR), have notified special schedules to ensure smooth travel and accommodate the surge in passenger demand.
The planning aims to provide reliable travel options for millions, with special focus on connecting key destinations in West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Assam.
South Eastern Railway specials
The South Eastern Railway (SER) will operate dedicated services between Shalimar and Visakhapatnam to ease the route between West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.
To accommodate the festive rush, SER will operate the Visakhapatnam-Shalimar Holi Special (Train No. 08508), which is scheduled to depart from Visakhapatnam every Wednesday between March 3 and March 17, 2026, at 11:20 hrs, reaching Shalimar at 03:00 hrs the following day. In the return direction, the Shalimar-Visakhapatnam Special (Train No. 08507) will leave Shalimar every Tuesday between March 4 and March 18, 2026, at 05:00 hrs, arriving in Visakhapatnam at 20:50 hrs the same day. These special services are designed to provide extra capacity and will include important regional stoppages at Santragachi, Kharagpur, and Baleshwar.
Eastern Railway specials
The Eastern Railway (ER) is adding over 12,600 berths through special services, specifically targeting pilgrims and travellers heading to Puri (via Malatipatpur) and Delhi.
Sealdah-Malatipatpur (03101/03102)
03101: Leaves Sealdah every Friday (February 27 – March 20) at 23:50 hrs.
03102: Leaves Malatipatpur every Saturday (February 28 – March 21) at 15:40 hrs.
Features: Fully air-conditioned accommodation.
Dankuni-Anand Vihar Terminal (03009/03010)
03009: Leaves Dankuni on February 28 and March 7 at 00:20 hrs.
03010: Leaves Anand Vihar on March 1 and March 8 at 15:00 hrs.
Features: General Second Class, Sleeper, and AC coaches.
Northeast Frontier Railway specials
The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has initially planned four pairs of special trains to connect the Northeast with major hubs in Punjab, Bihar, and West Bengal.
Train No. 05633/05634 (Narangi-Gorakhpur) will operate every Thursday (Up) from February 19 to March 26 and every Friday (Down) from February 20 to March 27, departing Narangi at 13:20 hrs. Train No. 05736/05735 (Katihar-Amritsar) is set to run every Wednesday (Up) starting February 18 and every Friday (Down) from February 20, with departures from Katihar at 21:00 hrs. For those travelling from Assam to Bihar, Train No. 05974/05973 (Dibrugarh-Jhanjharpur) will run every Tuesday (Up) from February 17 to March 31 and every Wednesday (Down) from February 18 to April 1, leaving Dibrugarh at 05:20 hrs. Additionally, Train No. 05932/05931 (Dibrugarh-Kolkata) will provide connectivity every Saturday (Up) from February 21 to March 7 and every Monday (Down) from February 23 to March 9, departing Dibrugarh at 17:00 hrs.