Indian Railways' big Diwali gift! Special Shatabdi train to run from today – All details

In what comes as a big Diwali gift for Indian Railways passengers, the national transporter will be running a special Shatabdi Express train between Mumbai Central to Ahmedabad to cater to the high demand during the season. According to a press release issued by WR CPRO Sumit Thakur, Mumbai Central- Ahmedabad special Shatabdi Express will run from October 28, 2020, till further notice. 

The Indian Railways runs special trains on different routes during festive season to meet the increased demand. This year, another two pairs of festival special trains between Bhuj and Bareilly, with 74 trips are also being run to clear the rush during the festive occasion. 

Special Shatabdi Express train number 02009/02010 Mumbai Central-Ahmedabad Special Shatabdi Express will run on all days except Sunday. This train will leave Mumbai Central for Ahmedabad at 06.30 hrs and will reach Ahmedabad at 12.45 pm on the same day.  

For the return journey, train number 02010 will leave from Ahmedabad for Mumbai at 14.45 hrs and will reach Mumbai Central at 21.20 hrs on the same day. The train will stop at Borivali, Vapi, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, and Nadiad stations in both directions during the journey. The train will have AC Executive Chair Car and AC Chair car coaches. 

Bookings for train are open and can be done through nominated PRS counters and on the IRCTC website. 

Earlier on October 13, the department announced the operation of 392 special festival trains between October 20 and November 30. The months of October and November are the peak of festival season with Navratri, Dusshera, Chhath, and Diwali. Depending on the region, each festival sees an increased demand of travel to the state of Bihar.