Indian Railways has deployed 116 additional coaches across 37 trains to handle a sudden surge in passenger demand following widespread flight cancellations, the Ministry of Railways announced on Friday. The extra coaches will operate on 114 trips to ease crowding and accommodate stranded travellers turning to trains as an alternative.
Southern Railway added the largest share of coaches, increasing capacity on 18 trains from December 6 with additional Chair Car and Sleeper coaches. Northern Railway expanded accommodation on eight trains by deploying 3AC and Chair Car coaches on key high-demand routes, while Western Railway introduced 2AC and 3AC coaches on four services starting December 6.
East Central Railway added extra 2AC coaches on the Rajendra Nagar–New Delhi route for five trips between December 6 and 10, and East Coast Railway boosted capacity on Bhubaneswar–New Delhi services with 2AC additions. Eastern Railway attached Sleeper coaches to three trains for six trips on December 7 and 8. Northeast Frontier Railway enhanced two services with 3AC and Sleeper coaches across eight trips each between December 6 and 13.
To further manage the load, the Railways is operating four special trains: the Gorakhpur–Anand Vihar Terminal Special, the New Delhi–Martyr Captain Tushar Mahajan Vande Bharat Special, a New Delhi–Mumbai Central Superfast Special and a one-way Hazrat Nizamuddin–Thiruvananthapuram Superfast Special.
The ministry said the measures aim to minimise travel disruption and ensure connectivity as thousands of passengers switch from air to rail travel amid the ongoing aviation crisis.
