Eleven festival special trains will be plied to facilitate the movement of people during Diwali and Chhath, which are going to be observed on November 12 and November 17 respectively.
According to Eastern Railway (ER) officials, the trains to North India from Bengal are running full and the special trains will take some load off from the regular trains.
Sealdah-Puri special will be plied on November 11, November 18 and November 25, according to ER officials, berths are available in third-tier ac. Sealdah-New Jalpaiguri special and Howrah-New Jalpaiguri special will be plied on November 18 and November 25, and November 22 and November 29, respectively.
Asansol-Anand Vihar special will be run on three days — November 10, November 17 and November 24. One Malda-Anand Vihar Terminal special will be plied on November 13. Kolkata-Guwahati special will be plied on four days–November 9, November 16, November 23 and November 30.
ER shared that Gangasagar Express has waiting list of 399 in sleeper, 144 in third ac and 49 in second ac on November 14, the booking for sleeper in Mithilanchal Express on November 16 had to be closed, and Purvanchal Express has waiting list of 389 in sleeper, 129 in third ac and 48 in second ac for November 14.
‘The Railway authorities are making every effort to accommodate the surge in demand for tickets, but it is advisable to book your tickets as early as possible to secure your travel plans,’ an official said, while adding: ‘To address the unprecedented demand for railway tickets, Eastern Railway has taken several proactive steps like optimising ticket availability on popular routes.’