Indian Railways has deployed a 16-coach Vande Bharat Festival Special to clear the congestion choking the Delhi-Patna corridor during the Diwali and Chhath festival window. The service kicks off on October 16, 2026, and will run 18 times in each direction through November 25. This direct intervention targets the severe oversubscription on regular trains, where waiting lists have become a primary headache for travelers heading to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Saraswati Chandra, Chief Public Relations Officer of East Central Railway, confirmed the schedule is designed to absorb the festive rush. The train covers the 1,030-km route in 12 hours and 55 minutes, significantly faster than many conventional options. It stops at Aligarh, Kanpur Central, Prayagraj, Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction, Buxar, and Ara. For the outbound journey (Train 02252), the train leaves New Delhi at 8:35 am and docks in Patna at 9:30 pm. The return service (Train 02251) departs Patna at 10:00 am, arriving in New Delhi by 11:30 pm.
Fares are fixed at ₹4,695 for Executive Chair Car and ₹2,615 for AC Chair Car. The specific operational rhythm is tight. From October 21 to November 25, the Delhi-Patna leg runs every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. The Patna-Delhi return operates on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays during the same period. Initial extra runs are scheduled for October 17 and 19 in the return direction.
This high-speed insertion is expected to pull thousands of passengers off the waiting lists that typically clog the system during this period. It offers a premium, time-efficient alternative for those who can afford the fare, reducing the stress of last-minute booking failures. The schedule remains fixed for the specified dates, with no extension announced beyond November 25, 2026.