Ardh Kumbh, Holi special trains to clear extra rush

New Delhi, Feb 19: Railways will run special trains for the upcoming Ardh Kumbh Mela and Holi festival to clear the extra rush of passengers.

An Ardh Kumbh special train will run between Bikaner and Haridwar while a Holi special will be pressed into service between Anand Vihar and Gorakhpur, a senior Northern Railway official said.

Comprising an AC II-Tier, four AC III-Tier, eight Sleeper Class, six General Class and two Second Class-cum-Luggage Van coaches, the Ardh Kumbh special will make 20 trips beginning February 26.

The train will depart from Bikaner every Friday between February 26 and April 29 at 7.45 PM to reach Haridwar at 10.25 AM the next day. In the return direction, the train will depart from Haridwar on every Saturday between February 27 and April 30 at 7.50 PM to reach Bikaner at 9.40 AM the next day.

It will have halts at the Napasar, Sudsar, Shridungargarh, Rajaldesar, Rattangarh, Churu, Sadulpur, Loharu, Mohindergarh, Rewari, Old Delhi, Shahdara, Shamli, Tapri and Roorkie stations en route in both the directions.

Comprising one AC II-Tier, three AC III-Tier, 11 Sleeper Class, six General Class and two Second Class-cum-Luggage Van coaches, the Holi special train will make 14 trips beginning March 6.

The train will leave Gorakhpur on every Sunday between March 6 and April 10 at 2.30 PM to reach Anand Vihar at 5 AM the next day. In the return direction, it will depart from Anand Vihar every Monday between March 7 and April 11 at 7 AM to reach Gorakhpur at 9.55 PM the same day.

The Holi Special train will have stops at Khalilabad, Basti, Gonda, Sitapur, Bareilly and Moradabad stations en route in both the directions.

PTI