Indian Railways adds 116 coaches to meet passenger surge amid Indigo flight disruptions

In response to rising passenger demand caused by widespread flight cancellations, Indian Railways has deployed 116 additional coaches across 37 premium trains, covering 114 enhanced trips nationwide. Southern Railway spearheaded the expansion with 18 train augmentations.

New Delhi: In view of the surge in passenger demand following widespread flight cancellations, the Indian Railways has deployed 116 additional coaches in 37 premium trains operating over 114 enhanced trips across the country.

A press statement from the Railway Ministry said that the Southern Railway (SR) has carried out the highest number of augmentations, enhancing capacity in 18 trains.

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“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,” the note said.

It added, “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.”

According to the ministry, the Western Railway (WR) has increased four high-demand trains by adding 3AC and 2AC coaches and the augmentations, effective from December 6, cater to strong passenger movement from western regions to the national capital.

“East Central Railway (ECR) has strengthened the Rajendra Nagar-New Delhi (12309) service with additional 2AC coaches over five trips between 6-10 December 2025, providing enhanced capacity on this important Bihar-Delhi sector,” officials from the ministry said.

“East Coast Railway (ECOR) has augmented the Bhubaneswar-New Delhi services (Trains 20817/20811/20823) by adding 2AC coaches across five trips, improving connectivity between Odisha and the capital,” they added.

Talking about the arrangements done by the Eastern Railway (ER), the ministry informed that it has implemented augmentations in three key trains, adding Sleeper Class coaches over six trips on December 7 and 8, meeting increased regional and inter-state travel demand in the east.

“Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has augmented two important trains with 3AC and Sleeper coaches over eight trips each from 6-13 December 2025, ensuring uninterrupted capacity for travellers in the Northeast,” the press note said.

Along with these enhancements, the Indian Railways is also operating four special train services to further support passengers.

The Gorakhpur-Anand Vihar Terminal-Gorakhpur Special (05591/05592) will operate four trips between December 7 and 9. The New Delhi-Martyr Captain Tushar Mahajan-New Delhi Reserved Vande Bharat Special (02439/02440) will run on December 6, providing fast and comfortable connectivity to the Jammu region, the officials said.

They added that to meet high demand towards the western sector, the New Delhi-Mumbai Central-New Delhi Reserved Superfast Special (04002/04001) will operate on December 6 and 7.

“Additionally, the Hazrat Nizamuddin-Thiruvananthapuram Central Reserved Superfast Special (04080) will run one-way on December 6, offering long-distance connectivity towards the southern region,” the ministry said.