It was around the same time&mdashthe north Indian festival of colours, Holi&mdashthat the nationwide lockdown to control the spread of the coronavirus was announced. After close to a whole year, travel and outdoor activity are not so much of a terrifying prospect anymore, thanks to better knowledge about its control and the vaccine. In fact, to facilitate those headed home or to their loved ones for Holi (March 29), the Indian Railways recently announced a few special trains. A bulk of these trains, which will begin operations on March 1, will benefit passengers travelling between Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, with the states of Maharashtra, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh, too, covered.
Check out the list of the 16 Holi-special trains announced to manage passenger rush during the festival below
Bhagalpur-Danapur 03401, Danapur-Bhagalpur 03402 (both daily)
Bhagalpur-Muzaffarpur Spl 03419, Muzaffarpur-Bhagalpur Spl 03420 (both daily)
Kolkata-Udaipur Spl 02315 (Thursday), Udaipur-Kolkata Spl 02316 (Monday)
Kolkata-Sitamarhi Spl 03165 (Saturday), Sitamarhi-Kolkata Spl 03166 (Sunday)
Asansol-Mumbai CST Spl 02361 (Sunday), Mumbai CST-Asansol Spl 02362 (Wednesday)
Howrah-Gaya Spl via Sahibganj 03023, Gaya-Howrah Spl via Sahibganj 03024 (both daily)
Howrah-Suri Spl 03001, Suri-Howrah Spl 03002 (both daily)
Haldia-Asansol Spl 03501, Asansol-Haldia Spl 03502 (except Sundays)
Digha-Asansol 03505, Asansol-Digha 03506 (Sunday)
Tatanagar-Asansol Spl 03511, Asansol-Tatanagar Spl 03512 (Tuesday, Friday, Sunday)
Bhagalpur-LTT Spl 02335 (Tuesday, Friday, Saturday), LTT-Bhagalpur Spl 02336 (Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday)
Asansol-Gorakhpur Spl 03507 (Friday), Gorakhpur-Asansol Spl 03508 (Saturday)
Asansol-Gonda Spl 03509 (Monday), Gonda-Asansol Spl 03510 (Wednesday)
Digha-Malda Town 03417, Malda Town-Digha 03418 (both Thursday)
Malda Town-Patna Spl 03415 (Wednesday, Friday, Sunday), Patna-Malda Town Spl 03416 (Thursday, Saturday, Monday)
Malda Town-Surat Spl 03425 (Saturday), Surat-Malda Town Spl 03426 (Monday)
Do not forget to check and adhere to applicable COVID-19 travel guidelines and carry a negative RT-PCR test result wherever required.
There are also speculations that the Indian Railways may begin operating all trains from the current 65% of its capacity, from April 1.