Guwahati, Oct 22: The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has rolled out extensive measures to handle the surge in passenger traffic during the ongoing festive season, including Durga Puja, Diwali, and Chhath Puja.

Addressing a press conference at Guwahati Railway Station, NFR General Manager Chetan Kumar Shrivastava said that Indian Railways is operating a total of 12,011 special trains across the country during this period, compared to 7,724 services last year. Within the NFR zone, 48 special train services will operate, accounting for 620 trips between September and December 2025.

To ensure smooth travel, major stations such as Katihar, New Jalpaiguri, Guwahati, Jogbani, and Kishanganj have been equipped with enhanced facilities, including expanded holding areas, passenger information systems, fans, additional ticket counters, and automatic ticket vending machines.

Round-the-clock war rooms and additional staff, including Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel, have been deployed for crowd management and passenger assistance.

The festival special trains will connect key destinations including Katihar, Kishanganj, New Jalpaiguri, Sonpur, Dauram Madhepura, Agartala, New Tinsukia, SMVT Bengaluru, Amritsar, Patna, Dibrugarh, Gorakhpur, Silchar, Naharlagun, Kolkata, Guwahati, Ranchi, and Kamakhya.

Special services operating on October 22 include:

Train No. 05978 Dibrugarh–Gorakhpur (Weekly Special): Departure from Dibrugarh at 09:10 hrs, arrival at Gorakhpur at 19:00 hrs.

Train No. 05736 Katihar–Amritsar (Weekly Special): Departure from Katihar at 21:00 hrs, arrival at Amritsar at 09:45 hrs.

Train No. 07541 Katihar–Dauram Madhepura (Daily Special): Departure from Katihar at 19:00 hrs, arrival at 22:00 hrs.

Train No. 07542 Dauram Madhepura–Katihar (Daily Special): Departure from Dauram Madhepura at 22:45 hrs, arrival at Katihar at 02:30 hrs.

Train No. 07540 Katihar–Manihari (Daily Special): Departure from Katihar at 20:30 hrs, arrival at 21:30 hrs.

Train No. 07539 Manihari–Katihar (Daily Special): Departure from Manihari at 05:00 hrs, arrival at Katihar at 06:00 hrs.

The NFR has urged passengers to plan their journeys in advance and cooperate with railway staff to ensure safe and comfortable travel during the festive period.