Shrawan Special Trains Begin for Kashi Vishwanath Devotees

VARANASI: Rail passengers travelling for darshan at Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham during Shrawan are getting a set of special daily services from July 29, a move aimed at handling the sharp seasonal rise in devotees and kanwariyas entering the city.

The Varanasi division of North Eastern Railway has scheduled special passenger trains on the Prayagraj–Banaras–Subedarganj and Subedarganj–Aunrihar routes from July 29 to August 29. A separate Aunrihar–Prayagraj daily special will operate from July 30 to August 30 and complete 32 trips.

For travellers coming from Prayagraj, the passenger service will leave at 9.30 am and stop at Prayagraj Rambag, Jhusi, Handia Khas and Madhosingh before reaching Banaras at 11.50 am. The return-linked service will depart Banaras at 12.30 pm, pass through Madhosingh, Gyanpur Road, Handia Khas, Jhusi, Prayagraj Rambag and Prayagraj Junction, and arrive at Subedarganj at 4.10 pm. The rake will have 12 MEMU coaches.

The schedule matters because Shrawan travel in Varanasi is less like a single festival-day rush and more like a month-long mobility test. Passenger numbers climb around Mondays, while groups travelling on foot and by road also place extra pressure on the same station approaches, crossings and city corridors. Additional rail capacity can spread arrivals across more services instead of pushing everyone towards a handful of regular trains.

Banaras station is an important arrival point for pilgrims headed to the temple corridor and the ghats. The links with Prayagraj, Subedarganj and Aunrihar also make the services useful for passengers from the wider Purvanchal belt who combine shorter road journeys with rail travel. For families and older devotees, a daytime timetable offers a more practical option than reaching the city late at night.

Passengers should still check the latest running information before leaving home. Special trains can be affected by operational changes, platform revisions and monsoon-related delays, and the busiest dates may see crowd regulation at stations. Travellers should arrive with enough time for security checks and avoid carrying excess luggage, particularly when moving through crowded station exits.

The new services begin just as the holy month starts, giving the railway administration a full operating window through the main pilgrimage period. Their real test will come on the high-footfall days, when orderly boarding, clear announcements and coordination outside stations become as important as the extra coaches themselves.

For Varanasi, the objective is straightforward: bring devotees into Kashi safely, reduce avoidable congestion and keep everyday passengers moving even when the city is hosting one of its largest annual religious gatherings.