Indian Railways, the Central division to be more precise, has brought a lot of cheer to many people this year by facilitating 60 Ganpati festival special trains.

Mumbai is a city that is known for many wonderful things – its resilience, its love story with the Arabian Sea, its citizens who range from the Bollywood badshaahs to the Dabbawallas, the nightlife that one can enjoy there and its partiality to Ganpati Bappa. Every year, the months of August, September and even a part of October are hectic for people in and away from Mumbai because people are busy moving from one part of the city to another to celebrate this holy yet fun occasion and away, because those whose homes are away from Mumbai would like to be their own families during this festive season. It is no wonder that the transport services, be it air or road, are flooded with orders during these months, and many people end up getting disappointed because they are unable to get the travel tickets they want in time, or they are very expensive during this period, or because there is a shortage of transport vehicles.

This year, Central Railways have decided to introduce special 60 Ganpati special trains to try and minimise the number of stranded and disappointed Mumbaikars.

Here is a list of some of the important trains that are scheduled to operate during this year on a special basis:

1. Train number 01001 Mumbai-Madgaon CST Mumbai Special is scheduled to depart from CST Mumbai at 12.20 AM (just a little after midnight) every day except on Thursdays. This train will reach Madgaon at 2.10 PM the same day. This train will be available from September 11^th to September 29^th.
2. Train number 01002 is scheduled to depart from Madgaon at 2.40 every day except on Thursdays and will reach Mumbai CST at 4.25 AM (wee hours of the morning), the next day. This train will also be available between September 11^th and September 29^th.
3. Train number 01033 is scheduled to depart from Mumbai CST 12.20 AM every Thursday, in the place of train number 01001, and will also reach Madgaon the same day at 2.10 PM. This train will be available from September 10^th to 1^st
4. Train number 01034 is scheduled to depart from Madgaon at 3.25 PM on every Thursday and will reach Mumbai CST at 4.25 AM, the next day. This train is in the place of train number 01002 which will not depart on Thursday. This train is also available from September 10^th to 1^st
5. Train number 01095, called the Dadar-Sawantwadi, will have three runs per week and will be available from September 11^th to September 29^th. This train is scheduled to depart at 7.50AM from Dadar every Sunday, Tuesday and Friday and will arrive at Sawantwadi the same day at 8.30 PM.
6. Train number 01096 will depart from Sawantwadi on every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday and will arrive at Dadar at 3.50 PM of the same day and will be available from September 11^th to September 30^th.

Bookings for these special trains have already started since 12^th July! So make the most of this seasonal bonanza given by Central Railways and shout Ganpati Bappa Maurya! to your heart’s content this year!