Indian Railways Boosts Capacity With 116 Extra Coaches Amid IndiGo Flight Chaos

Amid the surge in passenger traffic triggered by widespread IndiGo flight cancellations, the Indian Railways has introduced 116 additional coaches across 37 premium trains, covering 114 augmented trips nationwide. According to a press release from the Ministry of Railways, the Southern Railway recorded the highest number of capacity additions, strengthening 18 trains with extra Chair Car and Sleeper Class coaches. These augmentations, implemented from 6 December 2025, significantly expand accommodation on major routes in the southern region.

The ministry noted that the Northern Railway has implemented upgrades on eight trains, adding 3AC and Chair Car coaches to improve availability on heavily travelled northern routes starting today.

On the western side, the Western Railway has enhanced four high-demand trains by attaching 3AC and 2AC coaches. Effective 6 December, these additions address strong passenger movement from western states toward the national capital.

Meanwhile, the East Central Railway has boosted capacity on the Rajendra Nagar-New Delhi (12309) service by adding 2AC coaches across five trips from 6 to 10 December 2025, strengthening the crucial Bihar-Delhi corridor.

Similarly, the East Coast Railway has augmented the Bhubaneswar-New Delhi services (Trains 20817, 20811, 20823) with 2AC coaches on five trips, enhancing connectivity between Odisha and New Delhi.

The ministry further stated that the Eastern Railway introduced extra Sleeper Class coaches across three key trains, covering six trips on December 7 and 8, to meet the rising interstate and regional travel demand in the eastern zone.

Northeast Frontier Railway Expands Capacity

The Northeast Frontier Railway has also increased capacity by augmenting two major trains with 3AC and Sleeper coaches over eight trips each, scheduled from 6 to 13 December 2025, ensuring reliable travel options across the Northeast.

Special Trains Deployed to Ease Travel Pressure

• In addition to these augmentations, the Indian Railways is running four special train services to further support travelers.
• The Gorakhpur-Anand Vihar Terminal-Gorakhpur Special (05591, 05592) will operate four trips between December 7 and 9.
• The New Delhi-Martyr Captain Tushar Mahajan-New Delhi Reserved Vande Bharat Special (02439, 02440) will run on December 6, offering swift connectivity to the Jammu region.
• To accommodate high demand toward the western sector, the New Delhi-Mumbai Central-New Delhi Reserved Superfast Special (04002, 04001) will operate on December 6 and 7.

Additionally, the Hazrat Nizamuddin-Thiruvananthapuram Central Reserved Superfast Special (04080) will run one-way on December 6, providing long-distance connectivity to the southern region.