Recognising that thousands of passengers have shifted to rail after flight cancellations, Indian Railways unveiled an emergency timetable featuring 89 special services between 6 and 9 December. The ad-hoc trains span all zones—South Eastern, South Central, Western, Northern and East Coast—linking metros such as Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata with tier-two cities and pilgrimage centres. Additional AC-3-tier coaches have also been attached to regular expresses.
The Ministry of Railways coordinated the plan with the Civil Aviation Ministry to map airport-city pairs most affected by the airline crisis. Booking quotas on IRCTC opened within hours, and early indicators show load factors above 95 %. Corporate mobility teams should therefore brief travellers to book quickly and to expect wait-lists on prime evening departures.
![Indian Railways to run 89 special trains over three days to clear aviation spill-over]()
Railways have also suspended platform-ticket sales at 13 high-traffic stations—including Mumbai CST and New Delhi—until 7 December to manage crowding during Mahaparinirvan Diwas, which coincidentally overlaps with the travel crunch.
For international assignees and business visitors unfamiliar with India’s rail network, the episodic expansion underscores the multimodal nature of contingency planning. Global firms with operations in manufacturing hubs such as Ahmedabad or Visakhapatnam are advising employees to keep the Rail Madad app handy and to allow extra ground-transfer time in congested city centres.
The Ministry of Railways coordinated the plan with the Civil Aviation Ministry to map airport-city pairs most affected by the airline crisis. Booking quotas on IRCTC opened within hours, and early indicators show load factors above 95 %. Corporate mobility teams should therefore brief travellers to book quickly and to expect wait-lists on prime evening departures.
Railways have also suspended platform-ticket sales at 13 high-traffic stations—including Mumbai CST and New Delhi—until 7 December to manage crowding during Mahaparinirvan Diwas, which coincidentally overlaps with the travel crunch.
For international assignees and business visitors unfamiliar with India’s rail network, the episodic expansion underscores the multimodal nature of contingency planning. Global firms with operations in manufacturing hubs such as Ahmedabad or Visakhapatnam are advising employees to keep the Rail Madad app handy and to allow extra ground-transfer time in congested city centres.
