NEW DELHI, Oct 14: The Railways have announced that 392 (196 pairs) additional special trains will be run during the coming festival season. The festival trains will be available from October 20 till November 30. The fare for the festival special trains will be same as that of the special trains already running. The tickets can be booked online via IRCTC website and on PRS ticket counters. The Zonal Railways will notify the schedule.

The Railway Ministry said in a statement that these special trains will cater to the demands during Durga Puja, Dussehra, Diwali and Chhatt puja.

With the relaxation of coronavirus restrictions, the Railways had recently started 300 special trains. The new festival special trains will be in addition to the existing special trains. The Railway Board said these festival trains will be operated at a speed of 55 kmph.

Additionally some suburban services are also being operated in Mumbai as well as certain services of the Kolkata Metro.

The Railways had suspended all its regular services due to the coronavirus pandemic from March and is currently operating special trains as per demand.

Special trains were started on May 12 to help stranded people across the country to reach their destinations. Fifteen pairs of premium Rajdhani special trains were started connecting Delhi with different parts of the country, followed by 100 pairs of long-distance trains on June 1. Eighty trains were added on September 12.

"We have conducted meetings with the general managers of zones and instructed them to speak with local administration and review the status of coronavirus. They have been asked to give us a report after which we will decide how many trains can be introduced during the holiday season," Railway Board Chairman and CEO VK Yadav had said.