ECoR Adds More Special Trains For Holi Festival Rush

Bhubaneswar: The East Coast Railway (ECoR) has decided to run more special trains connecting to major destinations to cater to the increased passenger demand during the Holi festival. These special trains will provide additional travel options for passengers and help ease congestion in regular trains.

Visakhapatnam-Patna Holi Special Train

ECoR will run a special train between Visakhapatnam and Patna via Rayagada-Titilagarh-Sambalpur-Raipur as per the following schedule:

• Train No. 08537/08538 Visakhapatnam-Patna-Visakhapatnam Holi Special
• From Visakhapatnam: Departs at 19:30 hrs on Sundays (16th March to 30th March 2025)
• From Patna: Departs at 22:30 hrs on Mondays (17th March to 31st March 2025)
• Stoppages: Vizianagaram, Bobbili, Parvatipuram, Rayagada, Singapur Road, Muniguda, Kesinga, Titilagarh, Balangir, Bargarh Road, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Rourkela, Hatia, Ranchi, Muri, Bokaro Steel City, Chandrapura, Gomo, Koderma, Gaya, and Jehanabad.

Additional Holi Special Trains from ECoR Jurisdiction

Apart from the Visakhapatnam-Patna Holi Special, ECoR will run the following trains:

1. Bhubaneswar – Cherlapalli (Hyderabad) Holi Special
2. Departs from Bhubaneswar at 12:10 hrs on Mondays (10th March to 24th March 2025)
3. Returns from Hyderabad at 09:50 hrs on Tuesdays (11th March to 25th March 2025)
4. Puri-Kolkata Holi Special
5. Departs from Kolkata at 23:50 hrs on 13th, 18th & 20th March 2025
6. Departs from Puri at 15:30 hrs on 14th, 19th & 21st March 2025
7. Visakhapatnam-SMVT Bengaluru Holi Special
8. Departs from Visakhapatnam at 15:30 hrs on Sundays (9th March to 23rd March 2025)
9. Returns from Bengaluru at 15:50 hrs on Mondays (10th March to 24th March 2025)

Extension of Services for Special Trains

To accommodate passenger demand, ECoR has extended the services of several special trains:

• Until the last week of June 2025:

1. 02837/02838 Santragachhi-Puri-Santragachhi Weekly Special
2. 02839/02840 Shalimar-Puri-Shalimar Weekly Special
3. 08011/08012 Bhanjapur (Baripada)-Puri-Bhanjapur Bi-weekly Special

• Until the last week of April 2025:

1. 09059/09060 Udhna (Surat)-Khurda Road-Udhna Special
2. 02811/02812 Bhubaneswar-Yesvantpur-Bhubaneswar Weekly Special
3. 08311/08312 Sambalpur-Erode-Sambalpur Weekly Special
4. 08508/08507 Visakhapatnam-Shalimar-Visakhapatnam Weekly Special
5. 02832/02831 Bhubaneswar-Dhanbad-Bhubaneswar Daily Special
6. 08583/08584 Visakhapatnam-Tirupati-Visakhapatnam Weekly Special

How to Book Tickets for Holi Special Trains

ECoR urges passengers to check availability and book their tickets on Special Trains, especially if they find a long waitlist on regular trains. The Special Train numbers start with “0” (zero), making them easily identifiable. Berths are available in these special trains, ensuring a comfortable journey during the festive season.

Passengers can check IRCTC website, NTES and official Social Media Handles of East Coast Railway for Special Train related updates and bookings.