Indian Railways Steps In With 116 Extra Coaches as Flight Disruptions Trigger Travel Chaos

Amid widespread cancellations and disruptions of IndiGo flights, Indian Railways has stepped up to manage the sudden surge in passenger traffic by deploying 116 additional coaches across 37 premium trains, covering 114 extra trips nationwide.

According to a statement from the Railway Ministry, the expansion—implemented from 6 December 2025—is aimed at providing immediate relief to passengers affected by aviation chaos.

Southern Railway Leads With Maximum Additions

Southern Railway has added the highest number of coaches, boosting capacity in 18 major trains by attaching Chair Cars and Sleeper Class coaches to high-demand routes.

“These augmentations significantly enhance accommodation in the southern region,” officials said.

Northern and Western Railway Expand High-Demand Routes

The Northern Railway has similarly strengthened eight services by adding 3AC and Chair Car coaches to ease heavy congestion on the Delhi-centric routes.

For Western India, Western Railway has added 3AC and 2AC coaches to four major trains to manage the surge between the region and the national capital.

Boost for Key Long-Distance Sectors

Several long-haul trains have also been expanded:

• East Central Railway (ECR) added 2AC coaches to the Rajendra Nagar–New Delhi (12309) service for five trips, improving Bihar–Delhi connectivity.
• East Coast Railway (ECOR) upgraded three Bhubaneswar–New Delhi trains (20817/20811/20823) with additional 2AC coaches over five trips.
• Eastern Railway (ER) increased Sleeper capacity across three trains for six trips on December 7–8.
• Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) attached extra 3AC and Sleeper coaches to two major trains, supporting eight trips each from December 6–13.

Four Special Trains Announced

To further ease the situation, the Railways also introduced four special services:

• Gorakhpur–Anand Vihar Terminal–Gorakhpur Special (05591/05592) – four trips from Dec 7–9
• New Delhi–Martyr Captain Tushar Mahajan–New Delhi Vande Bharat Special (02439/02440) – running on Dec 6
• New Delhi–Mumbai Central Superfast Special (04002/04001) – operating on Dec 6 and 7
• Hazrat Nizamuddin–Thiruvananthapuram Central Superfast Special (04080) – one-way service on Dec 6

Why This Matters

With thousands of passengers stranded due to IndiGo’s large-scale cancellations, railway services have become the primary alternative for long-distance travel. The quick addition of extra coaches and special trains is expected to ease the nationwide travel pressure significantly.

Originally published on 24×7-news.com.