Diwali homecoming rush has begun on the railways, nearly two months before the festival. Within minutes of reservation opening for November 6, trains coming to Lucknow from Mumbai and Delhi saw long waiting lists, with several services displaying a ‘regret’ status soon after.
What makes this year’s rush particularly striking is that even premium trains, which are significantly costlier than regular services, are seeing passengers compete for berths 60 days in advance. Trains such as the Tejas and Shatabdi, which often have vacant seats on normal days, are already showing substantial demand during the Diwali period.
The demand is especially high on trains arriving from Mumbai, as many of these services continue towards eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar after passing through Lucknow. Six trains from Mumbai are scheduled to serve Lucknow and onward destinations on November 6, but confirmed berths have already become difficult to secure.
On the Delhi route, Lucknow Mail, Gorakhdham and Vaishali are already showing “regret” across major classes, leaving passengers with few confirmed-ticket options for the festive rush.
The scale of the surge is evident even in premium services. A Shatabdi service had a waiting list of around 76 on Monday, despite reservations opening 60 days before the journey.
{{/usCountry}}The scale of the surge is evident even in premium services. A Shatabdi service had a waiting list of around 76 on Monday, despite reservations opening 60 days before the journey.
{{/usCountry}}Interestingly, the picture is completely different for journeys just a day later. Several premium services still had hundreds of vacant seats for November 7 when checked on Monday evening. One Tejas service, for instance, had around 500 seats available, while other premium services showed vacancies running into hundreds.
With November 7 reservations opening on Tuesday, the rush is expected to intensify further. For passengers who fail to secure confirmed berths, Tatkal reservations are likely to become the next major option.