Despite Indian Railways running 9,111 summer special trains, a significant increase from last year, passengers are facing high demand and inflated ticket prices for long-distance routes, especially to North Indian states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. With premium tatkal tickets sold out or waitlisted, ticketing agents are charging exorbitant fares, up...
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to three times the original price. Passengers are forced to pay these inflated prices due to the high demand, especially during auspicious periods for weddings. This surge in demand, coupled with a lack of available flights and affordable road travel options, has led to overcrowding on trains and chaotic situations at stations. Despite the increase in summer special trains, the railways have been criticized for insufficient long-distance services. The railways claim to be addressing the situation by monitoring crowds and regulating train operations.

The Indian Railway Time Table Committee (IRTTC) met in Jaipur from April 10th to 12th to discuss new train routes and timetables. While no agreement was reached on new routes, a significant decision was made regarding special trains. These trains, currently requiring individual approvals from different railway zones for each...
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festival or holiday period, will be integrated into the regular timetable. This means that specific special trains will run on predetermined schedules without needing separate approvals for each festival or holiday, resulting in more efficient operations and reliable scheduling. The committee also agreed to include a special train running between Gwalior and Barauni via Gorakhpur in the regular timetable. The list of these special trains will be released soon. The Gorakhpur railway division had proposed several new routes, including a Vande Bharat train between Gorakhpur and Agra Fort, but these proposals were not approved due to conflicting schedules with other railway zones. The board officials have asked for a revised timetable to be submitted within 15 days. Although no new trains were approved, there is hope that an agreement will be reached soon.

A meeting of the IRCTC in Jaipur from April 10-12 to discuss the timetable for new trains failed to reach an agreement. The Gorakhpur operational team presented proposed timings for various trains, including the Gorakhpur-New Delhi, Gorakhpur-Agra Fort Vande Bharat, and Gorakhpur-Malatipatpur, Gorakhpur-Bandra, and Gorakhpur-Madgaon trains. However, no consensus was reached...
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due to scheduling conflicts with other trains. The Gorakhpur-Agra Fort Vande Bharat faced issues with conflicting timings in the NCR region. The board officers requested a revised timetable within 15 days. While no new trains were approved, there is optimism that an agreement will be reached soon.

The Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd (DFCCIL) is actively seeking bulk users for its newly constructed freight corridors. They have been in discussions with major e-commerce and logistics companies like Amazon, Meesho, Delhivery, Blue Dart Express, and Shiprocket to lease out the infrastructure for cargo transport. DFCCIL has already...
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begun a trial service with Amazon since August 2023, shipping packages along the 659-km Rewari-Palanpur freight route. The trial service involves using a special train coach with a capacity of 18 tonnes per day, and the plan is to expand the service to 20 coaches per day in both directions. The full operationalization of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC), including the final stretch between Saphale and JNPT, is expected to be completed by June 2024, which will further boost demand. DFCCIL emphasizes that the WDFC will significantly reduce transportation times and logistics costs for companies. While some experts believe that the economics of using the freight corridor will be appealing to logistics companies, others are more skeptical, pointing out the companies' existing transportation networks and the potential challenges in transitioning to a new system. The Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) has been operational since last month, while the WDFC still has a 109-km stretch under construction, a crucial section that will provide direct connectivity between Mumbai and Delhi.

The Ratlam division of Indian Railways will operate two special trains for Holi. One train will run between Indore and Bandra Terminus on 18th & 25th March, departing Bandra Terminus at 5:10 PM and arriving Indore at 6:30 AM the next day. The return train will run on 19th & 26th...
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March, departing Indore at 9:20 PM and arriving Bandra Terminus at 12:30 PM the next day. This train will stop at Borivali, Palghar, Vapi, Valsad, Surat, Vadodara, Ratlam, Nagda, and Ujjain stations in both directions. The second train will run between Indore and Howrah on 15th, 22nd & 29th March, departing Indore at 11:30 PM on Fridays and arriving Howrah at 6:55 AM on Sundays. The return train will run on 17th, 24th & 31st March, departing Howrah at 5:45 PM on Sundays and arriving Indore at 12:50 AM on Tuesdays. This train will stop at Dewas, Ujjain, Shujalpur, Santhiradaram Nagar, Vidisha, Bina, Sagar, Damoh, Katni Murwara, Maihar, Satna, Manikpur, Prayagraj Chheoki, Mirzapur, Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Nagar, Sasaram, Dehri-on-Sone, Gaya, Koderma, Parasnath, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Gomoh, Dhanbad, Asansol, Durgapur and Barddhaman stations in both directions. The Indore-Chandigarh Express train has been extended to Anandpur Sahib, starting from Thursday morning at 5:30 AM from Indore. The train will reach Una (Himachal Pradesh) on Friday morning at 8:35 AM, and will depart from Una on Friday afternoon at 1:50 PM. The train will stop at Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar, Morinda, Rupnagar, Anandpur Sahib, and Nangal Dam stations between Chandigarh and Una.