Mumbai, July 19: With only a month's time left for the annual Ganesh festival on September 13 this year, the Indian Railways of Konkan and Western division of Mumbai will run special trains for people's convenience. According to the information received from the Konkan railway officials, they have decided to run special trains on the Konkan route in coordination with the Western Railways from Mumbai Central, Bandra Terminus, Ahmedabad and Thivim, Madgoan Junction, Mangaluru Junction to clear extra rush of passengers during the Ganpati festival.

It is a well-known fact that many people travel to their native places especially to Konkan region for the Ganesh festival. Therefore, the trains on this route experience a huge crowd. Many passengers also travel without a proper confirmed ticket so that they do not miss the festive, making it inconvenient for others who have booked their tickets in advance. Therefore, from the past few years, the railways have been running special trains in sufficient numbers on festive seasons, especially during Ganeshotsav, so everyone can travel on their reserved berth. Besides this, the railways also earn a good sum of profit out of it.

People can also book their tickets well in advance and plan their travels accordingly. Railways used to incur the losses as many used to travel without a proper ticket when the concept of special trains during festive season was not in existence. However, after introducing the trains, the railways have also been earning a profit, said a senior railway official.

Here is the list of special trains that will be running during the Ganeshotsav: 

  • Mumbai Central to Mangalore (Weekly) Train no. 09001, September 12 and September 19, 2018. Train Will leave from Mumbai Central at 11:50 am on Wednesday.

  • Mangalore to Mumbai Central Train No.09002, September 13 and September 20, 2018. The train will leave from Mangalore at 11:10 am.

The trains will halt at Borivali, Vasai Road, Panvel, Roha, Madgoan, Veer, Khed, Chiplun, Sangameshwar Road,  Ratnagiri, Kankavli, Kudal, Sawantwadi Road, Madure,  Thivim, Madgoan Junction, Karwar, Kumta, Bhatkal, Mookambika Road, Byandoor, Kundapora, Udupi, Mulki, and Suratkal Station. The train will have two coaches of second AC, eight coaches of three-tier AC, two sleeper class coaches, one pantry car.

      • Bandra to Mangalore AC train (Weekly)- Train no. 09009. The train will leave from Bandra station at 11:55 am on Tuesday, September 11 and 18, 2018.

      • Mangalore to Bandra Terminus (weekly)- Train no. 09010. The train will leave from Mangalore station at 11:10 am on Wednesday, September 12 and 19, 2018.

    The train will have one coach of two-tier AC, three coaches of three-tier AC, 10 coaches of sleeper class, three general coaches and one pantry car.

    The reservation for these special trains will start in a few days, one can book their tickets either online or by visiting their nearest railway station. The online portal to the book the tickets is --irctc.co.in

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 19, 2018 12:06 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).