Flight cancellation fiasco: Indian Railways adds 116 coaches across 37 premium trains nationwide

The Indian Railways has added 116 extra coaches to 37 premium trains as flight cancellations triggered a spike in passenger traffic, operating these coaches over 114 additional services across various routes.

According to a statement issued by the Railway Ministry, the Southern Railway (SR) has introduced the highest number of extra coaches, expanding capacity on 18 of its services.

The Ministry noted, "Additional Chair Car and Sleeper Class coaches have been deployed on high-demand routes. These augmentations, implemented from 6 December 2025 onward, substantially expand accommodation capacity in the southern region."

It further said, "Northern Railway (NR) follows with augmentations on eight trains, adding 3AC and Chair Car coaches. These measures implemented today onwards enhance availability on heavily travelled northern corridors."

The Western Railway (WR) has also increased capacities in four popular trains by attaching 3AC and 2AC coaches from 6 December, strengthening movement between western states and Delhi, the ministry said.

Officials added that the East Central Railway (ECR) has boosted the Rajendra Nagar–New Delhi service (12309) by attaching additional 2AC coaches on five trips between 6 and 10 December to meet demand on the Bihar–Delhi route.

The ministry also confirmed that the East Coast Railway (ECOR) has added 2AC coaches to the Bhubaneswar–New Delhi trains (20817/20811/20823) over five trips, improving passenger capacity between Odisha and the capital.

For the Eastern Railway (ER), extra Sleeper Class coaches have been placed on three major trains across six trips on 7 and 8 December, helping manage increased intra-regional and inter-state travel. The press release stated that the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has supplemented two key trains with Sleeper and 3AC coaches over eight trips each between 6 and 13 December, ensuring consistent availability for travellers from the Northeast.

In addition to these augmentations, the Railways has readied four special services to accommodate more passengers. The Gorakhpur–Anand Vihar Terminal–Gorakhpur Special (05591/05592) is scheduled for four trips from 7 to 9 December. The New Delhi–Martyr Captain Tushar Mahajan–New Delhi Reserved Vande Bharat Special (02439/02440) will run on 6 December, offering fast travel to Jammu, officials said.

They also noted that the New Delhi–Mumbai Central–New Delhi Reserved Superfast Special (04002/04001) will operate on 6 and 7 December to meet the strong rush towards Mumbai. The ministry added that the Hazrat Nizamuddin–Thiruvananthapuram Central Reserved Superfast Special (04080) will run one way on 6 December, providing long-distance connectivity to the South.
(With PTI Inputs)