CHENNAI – 7 Nov, 2026 Southern Railway has put in place a comprehensive set of initiatives to enhance the travel experience of passengers during the Diwali season 2026 (from the last week of October 2026 through November 2026), while maintaining the highest standards of service. The key initiatives are as follows:
Diwali Special Trains 2026
Southern Railway operated 132 Diwali special trains, including 62 services from other zonal Railways, providing 207 trips to meet the surge in demand during the festival season. In addition, 22 Mail/Express trains operated during the season were augmented with additional coaches for passenger convenience, and 8 unreserved MEMU trains were operated to clear the extra rush of waitlisted passengers.
These special trains catered to high passenger demand on popular sectors such as Chennai – Madurai – Tirunelveli – Kanniyakumari, Chennai – Rameswaram, Chennai – Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai – Mumbai, Chennai – Podanur, Chennai – Ramanathapuram, Thiruvananthapuram – Mumbai, Thiruvananthapuram – Delhi, Thiruvananthapuram – Bengaluru and Coimbatore – Tinsukia. They also connected important destinations across the country, such as Hyderabad in Telangana, Santragachi and Shalimar in West Bengal, and Barauni in Bihar.
Deployment of Security Personnel
In addition to the normal bundobust of 300 RPF officers, additional staff of 180 have been deployed at Dr. M.G.R. Chennai Central, Chennai Egmore, Perambur, Tambaram, Mambalam, Chennai Beach and St. Thomas Mount stations for crowd management. Further, 25 retired RPF personnel have also been deployed to assist the RPF. In addition, 30 National Service Scheme (NSS) personnel, 30 St. John’s Ambulance personnel and 158 Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel are being utilised in coordination with the RPF. The Dog Squad is also deployed for anti-sabotage checking at important railway stations.
Security Control Rooms and Queue Bundobust
Security Control Rooms are monitoring the crowd at important stations of Southern Railway through Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) systems. Queue bundobust at originating stations is being organised in coordination with Operating, GRP and Commercial staff at the field level.
Prevention of Cross-Movement of Passengers
Vestibules are being closed at platform level in coordination with the Operating, Commercial and Mechanical departments to prevent cross-movement of passengers from general coaches to reserved coaches.
Other Arrangements
• Punctuality Monitoring: The punctuality of regular and Diwali special trains is closely monitored to ensure timely arrival at destinations. Popular trains are given priority to manage the festive rush efficiently.
• Commercial Staff for Passenger Assistance: Commercial staff are deployed at vantage points in stations to assist passengers.
• Additional Booking Windows: To enhance passenger convenience, extra booking windows have been opened at major stations such as Dr. M.G.R. Chennai Central, Chennai Egmore, Tambaram, Madurai, Tiruchchirappalli, Palakkad, Thiruvananthapuram Central and Salem.
• Timely Announcements: Passengers were informed of train and coach positions well in advance through timely announcements.
• Mixed Escort for Security: Long-distance trains are provided with mixed escort teams to give real-time assistance, with a focus on the safety and comfort of women passengers.
• Help Desks: Special help desks were set up at all major stations to guide passengers and facilitate easy crowd clearance.