Western Railway will add temporary passenger capacity on the Sabarmati–Prayagraj route and operate a weekly Pratapnagar–Kolkata special train during the 2026 festival season, responding to higher travel demand across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
An additional sleeper coach will be attached to train numbers 04180 and 04179 on specified October dates. The Sabarmati–Prayagraj special, train number 04180, will receive the extra coach on October 11 and 14, while the returning Prayagraj–Sabarmati special, train number 04179, will have the additional sleeper coach on October 10 and 13.
The temporary arrangement is intended to provide more sleeper berths for passengers travelling towards northern India during the festival period. The announcement comes as railway services typically face increased demand for long-distance travel around major holidays, when passengers from western India travel to cities and towns across the northern and eastern regions.
Western Railway will also run train number 03110, the Pratapnagar–Kolkata weekly special, from October 15 to November 26. The train will depart from Pratapnagar every Thursday at 4.15 pm and reach Kolkata at 12.05 pm on Saturday. The return service, train number 03109, will operate from October 13 to November 24 every Tuesday, leaving Kolkata at 8 am and reaching Pratapnagar at 11.40 pm the following day.
The special train will stop in both directions at Vadodara, Godhra, Ratlam, Ramganj Mandi, Kota Junction, Sawai Madhopur, Gangapur City, Idgah Agra, Tundla, Govindpuri, Prayagraj, Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction, Bhabua Road, Sasaram, Dehri on Son, Anugraha Narayan Road, Gaya, Tilaiya, Nawada, Sheikhpura, Kiul, Jhajha, Jasidih, Madhupur, Chittaranjan, Asansol, Durgapur and Barddhaman.
The route links passenger demand centres across several railway divisions, including major stations in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. For passengers, the additional service provides a direct rail option between Pratapnagar and Kolkata, while the extra sleeper coach on the Sabarmati–Prayagraj service increases capacity only on the specified journeys.
The Pratapnagar–Kolkata special will include third AC, sleeper and general second-class coaches. The temporary services and coach augmentation are scheduled to end according to the dates announced by Western Railway: November 26 for the outward weekly service, November 24 for the return service and October 14 for the additional sleeper-coach arrangement on the Sabarmati–Prayagraj route.
