Even as IndiGo flights operating from Gujarat witnessed cancellations on Saturday morning, the Western Railway opened bookings for three special trains connecting Mumbai and Ahmedabad to New Delhi and Durgapura in Rajasthan to clear the rush of passengers due to the ongoing air travel crisis.
The special trains will run between December 7 and December 10, comprising mainly AC 3-tier coaches.
A train from Sabarmati Junction in Ahmedabad to New Delhi, comprising only AC 3-tier coaches, opened for booking on Saturday morning. The Sabarmati-Delhi Junction (09497) will run on December 7 and December 9. It will depart at 10.55 pm from Sabarmati and arrive in New Delhi at 3.15 pm the following day.
The train from Delhi Junction to Sabarmati (09498) will run on December 8 and December 10. It will depart from Delhi Junction at 9 pm on both days and arrive in Ahmedabad at 12.20 pm the following day. The train will halt at Mehsana, Palanpur, Abu Road, Ajmer, Jaipur, Alwar, Rewari, Gurgaon, and Delhi Cantonment stations in both directions.
The Mumbai Central-Shakur Basti Superfast Express (09003), comprising AC 3-tier and sleeper class coaches, will run on December 7 and December 8, departing from Mumbai Central at 10.30 am and arriving in Shakur Basti at 8 am the next day.
The Shakur Basti-Mumbai Central (09004) will depart on December 8 and 9 at 10.15 am and arrive in Mumbai at 10.30 am the following day. The train will halt at Borivali, Palghar, Vapi, Valsad, Surat, Vadodara, Bharuch, Vadodara, Ratlam, Nagda, Kota, Sawai Modhopur, Gangapur City, Hindaun City, Bharatpur, Mathura, Kosikalan, and Delhi Safdarjang stations in both directions.
From Bandra Terminus
Similarly, special trains from Bandra Terminus to Durgapura, passing through Vapi, Valsad, Surat, Vadodara, Bharuch, and Vadodara in Gujarat, comprising AC 3-tier and sleeper class coaches will run on December 7 from Durgapura and on December 8 from Bandra Terminus.
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Western Railways has also added additional AC 3-tier and AC 2-tier coaches to different high demand trains in the region, beginning Saturday, for passenger movement towards New Delhi.
Amid nationwide flight disruptions, India’s largest domestic carrier IndiGo has cancelled over 400 flights from major airports on Saturday, including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad. This comes a day after the airlines managed to temporarily secure major relaxations in the second phase of the court-mandated new flight duty and rest period norms for the cockpit crew.
Aditi Raja is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, stationed in Vadodara, Gujarat, with over 20 years in the field. She has been reporting from the region of Central Gujarat and Narmada district for this newspaper since 2013, which establishes her as a highly Authoritative and Trustworthy source on regional politics, administration, and critical socio-economic and environmental issues.
Expertise:
Core Authority & Specialization: Her reporting is characterized by a comprehensive grasp of the complex factors shaping Central Gujarat, which comprises a vast tribal population, including:
Politics and Administration: In-depth analysis of dynamics within factions of political parties and how it affects the affairs in the region, visits of national leaders making prominent statements, and government policy decisions impacting the population on ground.
Crucial Regional Projects: She consistently reports on the socio-economic and political impact of infrastructure projects in the region, especially the Statue of Unity, the Sardar Sarovar Project on the Narmada River, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail bullet train project as well as the National Highway infrastructure.
Social Justice and Human Rights: Her reporting offers deep coverage of sensitive human-interest topics, including gender, crime, and tribal issues. Her reports cover legal proceedings from various district courts as well as the Gujarat High Court (e.g., the Bilkis Bano case remission, POCSO court orders, Public Interest Litigations), the plight of tribal communities, and broader social conflicts (e.g., Kheda flogging case).
Local Impact & Disaster Reporting: Excels in documenting the immediate impact of events on communities, such as the political and civic fallout of the Vadodara floods, the subsequent public anger, and the long-delayed river redevelopment projects, Harni Boat Tragedy, Air India crash, bringing out a blend of stories from the investigations as well as human emotions.
Special Interest Beat: She tracks incidents concerning Non-Resident Gujaratis (NRIs) including crime and legal battles abroad, issues of illegal immigration and deportations, as well as social events connecting the local Gujarati experience to the global diaspora. ... Read More
