116 extra coaches in 37 premium trains: How Railways is stepping in amid IndiGo chaos

Indian Railways is stepping in to accommodate the increased passenger traffic resulting from flight disruptions caused by the ongoing IndiGo operational issues.

Amid a spike in passenger traffic triggered by mass flight disruptions, Indian Railways has rolled out a major capacity boost by attaching 116 extra coaches to 37 premium trains, covering 114 additional trips across multiple zones.

The Southern Railway lead with 18 trains enhanced, while other zones also implemented measures to improve capacity on key routes from December 6 onward. (PTI)

In a statement, the Railway Ministry said the Southern Railway has taken the lead, adding coaches to 18 trains, the highest among all zones.

“Additional Chair Car and Sleeper Class coaches have been deployed on high-demand routes. These augmentations, implemented from 6 December 2025 onward, substantially expand accommodation capacity in the southern region,” the ministry said, as per news agency PTI.

The Northern Railway has implemented similar measures on eight services, deploying additional 3AC and Chair Car coaches to ease congestion on busy northern corridors.

For travellers in western India, Western Railway has expanded capacity on four major trains by attaching 3AC and 2AC coaches, a move aimed at catering to the heavy passenger flow between the region and the national capital.

The ministry also highlighted capacity improvements on the following key long-distance routes:

– East Central Railway (ECR) has added 2AC coaches on the Rajendra Nagar-New Delhi train (12309) for five trips between December 6 and 10, strengthening the Bihar-Delhi sector.

– East Coast Railway (ECOR) has enhanced three Bhubaneswar-New Delhi services (20817/20811/20823) by including 2AC coaches over five trips, improving links between Odisha and the capital.

– Eastern Railway (ER) has increased Sleeper Class availability across three trains, covering six trips on December 7 and 8, to meet a surge in travel demand in the eastern region.

– Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has attached additional 3AC and Sleeper coaches to two major trains, ensuring uninterrupted capacity across eight trips each from December 6 to 13.

To further assist passengers affected by aviation disruptions, Indian Railways has also launched four special train services:

– The Gorakhpur-Anand Vihar Terminal-Gorakhpur Special (05591/05592), which will run four trips from December 7 to 9.

– The New Delhi-Martyr Captain Tushar Mahajan-New Delhi Reserved Vande Bharat Special (02439/02440), which will operate on December 6, offering faster connectivity to Jammu.

– The New Delhi-Mumbai Central-New Delhi Reserved Superfast Special (04002/04001) is scheduled for December 6 and 7 to accommodate strong western-sector demand.

– A one-way Hazrat Nizamuddin-Thiruvananthapuram Central Superfast Special (04080) will run on December 6, strengthening long-distance travel toward the south.

(With inputs from PTI)