Going home for Diwali 2026: festival special trains to Latur, Nagpur, Kolhapur, Amravati and the Konkan, and no ST fare hike this year

Diwali this year runs from Vasubaras on 5 November to Bhaubeej on 11 November. Two things matter most if you are heading home. Central Railway had announced 580 festival special services for the Puja, Diwali and Chhath season by 30 September, and many of them link Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Latur, Kolhapur and the Konkan. And ST bus tickets will not cost more over Diwali: the proposal for a 15% seasonal increase from 1 to 15 November has been turned down. The details below come from the railways' official press releases and from news reports on MSRTC.

Special trains within Maharashtra (Central Railway)

• Mumbai CSMT – Latur, twice a week (01105/01106): leaves CSMT at 12.35 am every Tuesday and Thursday from 13 October to 24 November; leaves Latur at 4.30 pm on the same days. Stops include Pune, Daund, Kurduwadi, Barsi Town, Dharashiv and Harangul.
• Mumbai CSMT – Nagpur weekly superfast (02139/02140): leaves CSMT at 12.25 am every Saturday (17 October to 21 November) and Nagpur at 1.30 pm every Sunday (18 October to 22 November), via Nashik Road, Manmad, Jalgaon, Bhusaval, Shegaon, Akola, Badnera and Wardha.
• Mumbai CSMT – Kolhapur weekly (01417/01418): leaves CSMT at 2.30 pm and Kolhapur at 12.05 am, both on Thursdays, from 15 October to 19 November. Stops include Pune, Satara, Karad, Sangli and Miraj.
• Pune – New Amravati weekly AC (01403/01404): leaves Pune at 7.55 pm every Tuesday (13 October to 17 November) and New Amravati at noon every Wednesday (14 October to 18 November), via Ahilyanagar, Manmad, Jalgaon, Bhusaval, Akola and Badnera.
• Nagpur – Hadapsar (Pune), twice a week (01201/01202): leaves Nagpur at 7.40 pm every Monday and Thursday (8 October to 19 November) and Hadapsar at 4.05 pm every Tuesday and Friday (9 October to 20 November).
• Nagpur – Hadapsar weekly (01209/01210): leaves Nagpur at 7.40 pm every Saturday (10 October to 21 November) and Hadapsar at 4.05 pm every Sunday (11 October to 22 November). Both Nagpur–Hadapsar trains run via Wardha, Badnera, Akola, Bhusaval, Jalgaon, Manmad and Ahilyanagar.
• Kolhapur – Kalaburagi (01451/01452): on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10 October to 15 November, leaving Kolhapur at 6.10 am. Stops include Miraj, Sangola, Pandharpur, Kurduwadi and Solapur.
• The weekly AC specials from Mumbai to Chennai (01015/01016) and to Bengaluru (01013/01014) also stop at Pune; the Chennai train stops at Solapur, and the Bengaluru train at Satara, Karad, Sangli and Miraj.

For the Konkan

• LTT – Madgaon weekly (01179/01180): leaves LTT at 8.20 am and Madgaon at 10 pm, both on Fridays, until 20 November. Stops include Panvel, Pen, Roha, Khed, Chiplun, Ratnagiri, Kankavali and Sindhudurg.
• LTT – Thiruvananthapuram North weekly (01463/01464): leaves LTT at 4 pm every Thursday (15 October to 19 November); the return runs on Saturdays (17 October to 21 November). Konkan stops include Roha, Khed, Chiplun, Sangameshwar Road, Ratnagiri, Kankavali, Sindhudurg, Kudal and Sawantwadi Road.
• Konkan Railway's Thiruvananthapuram Central – Madar (Ajmer) weekly special (06013/06014): northbound from Thiruvananthapuram every Wednesday (21 October to 25 November), southbound from Madar at 9.40 pm every Saturday (24 October to 28 November). Its Maharashtra stops are Sawantwadi Road, Kankavali, Ratnagiri, Sangameshwar Road, Chiplun, Khed, Mangaon, Roha, Panvel and Vasai Road. Konkan Railway's notice does not give a booking date.

From Mumbai and Pune to north and east India

For those travelling to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar for Chhath and Diwali, Central Railway's main specials are: CSMT–Gorakhpur daily (01079, 16 October to 16 November), Hadapsar–Gorakhpur daily (01415, 16 October to 16 November), LTT–Danapur daily (01143, 9 October to 21 November), LTT–Mau (01123), LTT–Banaras (01051 and 05168), LTT–Samastipur AC (01043), Hadapsar–Ghazipur City (01431), Khadki–Hazrat Nizamuddin AC (01483) and Khadki–Sanganer (01411). An LTT–Ayodhya Cantt special (01045) announced on 18 October runs with Amrit Bharat coaches every Monday and Friday from 19 October to 27 November.

Booking train tickets

• Booking for most trains in the first batch of 418 services opened on 27 and 28 September, and for the later 162 services on 2 October. The railway says booking for the LTT–Ayodhya train is also open.
• Reserved tickets are sold at computerised reservation counters and on www.irctc.co.in. Unreserved tickets cost the normal fare and can be bought through the UTS system or the RailOne app.
• For exact timings at intermediate stations, check www.enquiry.indianrail.gov.in or the NTES app.
• As of 22 October we found no Diwali special-train list among the press releases on Western Railway's website; for trains run by other zones, check NTES or IRCTC.

ST buses: fares, extra buses and a strike warning

• No fare hike: MSRTC's administration had proposed a flat 15% rise in fares from 1 to 15 November 2026. Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik, who also chairs MSRTC, rejected it, citing drought and inflation, so normal fares will apply through Diwali.
• Pune division: extra buses will leave from Swargate, Shivajinagar, Pune Station and Pimpri-Chinchwad for Marathwada, Vidarbha, Khandesh, the Konkan and western Maharashtra. Reports differ on the total: more than 600 special buses (a 12 October report), about 1,200 extra and regular buses (19 October, quoting divisional controller Arun Siya), and about 2,000 buses over eight to ten days (14 October).
• Pimpri-Chinchwad: a 12 October report said the extra buses for Marathwada, Vidarbha and Khandesh would this year leave from the Pimpri-Chinchwad depot instead of Khadki, between 4 and 7 November.
• Beed division: 40 extra trips a day from 2 to 22 November, to Pune, Mumbai, Kalyan, Dhule, Amravati, Solapur, Nashik and Latur. The 50% concession for women and the concessions for senior citizens apply on these trips too.
• Strike warning: the Seva Shakti Sangharsh ST Karmachari Sangh, led by MLA Gopichand Padalkar, has warned of a statewide strike from 6 November if its demands are not met, including salaries on time, a 60% dearness allowance and a Rs 15,000 Diwali bonus. We found no report of a settlement as of 22 October; check for updates before you travel.

Before you travel

• Buy train tickets only on www.irctc.co.in, IRCTC's official app, the RailOne app or at a railway reservation counter.
• Book ST seats only on MSRTC's official site (npublic.msrtcors.com), the 'MSRTC Bus Reservation' app or at a bus-station reservation counter.
• Avoid touts outside stations and bus stands who promise 'confirmed' tickets, links forwarded on WhatsApp, and fake sites made to look like the official ones. Check the web address before you pay.
• Because of work on platforms 14 and 15 at CSMT, during a block that runs until 15 December the Nandigram (11002), Howrah–CSMT (12810), Konark (11020) and Madgaon–CSMT Tejas (22120) expresses end at Dadar, and the Mangaluru–CSMT express (12134) ends at Thane. Plan for this if you are returning to Mumbai on one of them.
• The return rush builds after Bhaubeej on 11 November, so book your return ticket when you book the outward one.
• Check your train's timing and platform on the NTES app before you leave home.

Sources: Central Railway: 418 special trains (25 September 2026); Central Railway: 162 more special trains, 580 in all (30 September 2026); Central Railway: Mumbai–Ayodhya specials (18 October 2026); Central Railway: block on CSMT platforms 14 and 15; Central Railway: three trains restored to CSMT; Konkan Railway: Puja/Diwali special trains 2026; MSRTC (official website); Free Press Journal Marathi (fare hike dropped); TV9 Marathi (fare hike dropped); Pudhari (Pune division's extra buses); News18 Lokmat (Pune division, Pimpri-Chinchwad); Civic Mirror (Pune division); eSakal (Beed division's extra trips); Saam TV (strike warning); Navarashtra (strike warning)