Indian Railways: More than 18200 summer special train trips for the 2026 season have been announced by Indian Railways. The move would help in accommodating the seasonal traveller urge that generally peaks during the months of May, June and July every year due to summer vacations.
Indian Railways-Summer Special Trains
Indian Railways has approved 98 summer special trains that have been distributed strategically across several zones. This would help in managing the heavy influx of migrant workers returning home and holiday commuters.
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The services are likely to run between April 16 and July 15, 2026. More than 660 trains accounting for more than 11000 trips have already been notified and a notification for the rest would be shared soon by the Indian Railways.
Frequency And Count Of Summer Special Trains
According to media reports, the expansion would be led by South Central Railway (SCR) that would be leading the count of summer special trains with 124 special trains. In terms of total train frequency, it would be Central Railway that would be leading the way with a whopping 3082 trips, followed closely with 2711 trips by East Central Railway.
What is “Opt Vikalp” Feature?
If you’ve been facing challenges to book your train tickets for the summer vacations, you can utilize the Vikalp or Alternate Train Accommodation Scheme. This feature would help you book confirmed tickets long after charts have been prepared and your ticket still in the waiting list. The Vikap option would help passengers easily identify and book tickets on other trains that are running on the same travel route.
In another development, Indian Railways has announced that travelling for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) would now be facilitated in unreserved Divyangjan coaches of Mail and Express trains. However, PwDs would be required to hold a valid Unique Disability ID (UDID) card.
