India adds summer trains

Indian Railways is adding extra summer services in southern India as April bookings tighten, including 29 special trains on Andhra Pradesh routes. (thehindu.com) The Andhra Pradesh announcement, published April 14, said the extra trains will run through the end of April to handle the seasonal rush. The report listed services linking cities such as Bengaluru, Mysuru, Hubballi and Podanur with Balurghat, New Jalpaiguri, Dibrugarh, Rupsa, Alipurduar and Barauni. (thehindu.com) South Central Railway also issued a separate press release on April 13 adding weekly summer specials on three corridors: CST Mumbai-Hyderabad, CST Mumbai-Chennai Central, and Tambaram-Santragachi. The Chennai-Mumbai pair starts with train 01015 from Mumbai on April 19 and train 01016 from Chennai on April 20. (scr.indianrailways.gov.in) That same South Central Railway release schedules Tambaram-Santragachi train 06075 on April 14, 21 and 28, with the return 06076 on April 15, 22 and 29. It schedules Mumbai-Hyderabad trains 01011 and 01012 weekly from April 23 to July 9 for 12 services each. (scr.indianrailways.gov.in) Railways in India routinely add “special” trains during holiday and festival peaks instead of changing the base timetable. Southern Railway’s press release page shows multiple summer-special notices issued between late March and early April 2026, alongside Easter and Vishu specials. (sr.indianrailways.gov.in) South Central Railway’s press release archive shows the same pattern this month, with notices on April 1, April 8, April 10 and April 13 covering new specials, extensions and weekly summer services. The additions span both long-distance interstate routes and trains crossing Andhra Pradesh stations. (scr.indianrailways.gov.in) The Andhra Pradesh routes matter because they sit on the east-coast and south-central corridors that carry passengers between Chennai, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and eastern India. A separate March 31 report in The Hindu said Railways had already added a bi-weekly Charlapalli-Santragachi special via Duvvada for April traffic. (thehindu.com) The Mumbai-Chennai special will stop at 23 intermediate stations, including Pune, Solapur, Guntakal, Kadapa, Renigunta and Arakkonam, and South Central Railway said the rake will carry first air-conditioned, second air-conditioned, third air-conditioned, sleeper and general second-class coaches. (scr.indianrailways.gov.in) The near-term test is simple: whether these extra departures absorb the April spike before schools close across more States and the heavier May-June vacation rush begins. For now, the railway zones are responding the usual way — by putting more trains on the board. (scr.indianrailways.gov.in)