The Railways on Saturday announced 84 special trains across all zones to assist passengers hit by the mass flight cancellations by IndiGo, which has disrupted operations for five consecutive days and caused widespread delays, long queues and misplaced baggage across major airports.
The special trains will make 104 trips, with officials indicating that the numbers may increase depending on the evolving traffic scenario in cities including New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Patna and Howrah.
According to Dilip Kumar, Executive Director, Information and Publicity, Railway Board, all zones have been directed to use available rolling stock and manpower to ensure safe operations for lakhs of stranded passengers.
Railways has begun disseminating information at nearby airports and through official channels, while some zones have issued press releases and coordinated with airport authorities to display schedules of the newly introduced services.
"Western Railway will run seven special trains on a special fare between Mumbai Central-New Delhi, Mumbai Central-Bhiwani, Mumbai Central-Shakur Basti, Bandra Terminus-Durgapura, Valsad-Bilaspur, Sabarmati-Delhi and Sabarmati-Delhi Sarai Rohilla stations," a press note said.
Central Railway has planned 14 special trains and Northern Railway 10, with officials reviewing numbers to meet rising demand. Other zones have also issued notifications with detailed schedules.
South Western Railway has arranged special services between 6-10 December on high demand routes including Bengaluru to Chennai, Bengaluru to Pune, Yesvantpur to Hazrat Nizamuddin, Shalimar to Yelahanka and Ernakulam to Yelahanka.
Services include Train No. 06255 and 06256 between Chennai Egmore and KSR Bengaluru, 06257 and 06258 between Bengaluru and MGR Chennai Central, 06259 and 06260 between Yesvantpur and Hazrat Nizamuddin, and 06263 and 06264 between Bengaluru and Pune.
Central Railway will operate Train No. 01413 and 01414 between Pune and Bengaluru.
South Eastern Railway will run Train No. 08073 and 08074 between Shalimar and Yelahanka.
Southern Railway will run Train No. 06147 and 06148 between Ernakulam and Yelahanka. Passengers have been advised to check updated timings and reach stations early.
South Central Railway also announced four special trains to manage the surge of passengers travelling to Chennai, Mumbai and Shalimar from Hyderabad.
With large scale IndiGo cancellations causing heavy disruption at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd has partnered with the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation to introduce temporary special bus services from the airport to help travellers reach their destinations with reduced stress.
Airport authorities confirmed that 74 outbound and 70 incoming IndiGo flights were cancelled on Saturday, drawing criticism from frustrated passengers.
Some travellers complained about lack of staff and information, with several taking to social media to express anger over abrupt cancellations and poor communication.
IndiGo in a statement said it is working to stabilise schedules, reduce delays and support affected customers. The airline said cancellations have dropped to below 850 flights on Saturday, considerably lower than the previous day.
