Central Railway will operate two pairs of unreserved special trains between Pune and Nagpur from October 19 to 22 to accommodate the expected rush of passengers travelling for Dhammachakra Pravartan Din, the Pune Division said in a press release on Friday.
The additional services will run under the railway’s Train on Demand system. The Pune-Nagpur service, Train No. 01215, will depart from Pune at 2.50 pm on October 19 and 21, reaching Nagpur at 7.30 am the following day. The return service, Train No. 01216, will leave Nagpur at 11 pm on October 20 and 22 and arrive in Pune at 4.20 pm the next day.
Dhammachakra Pravartan Din commemorates Dr B R Ambedkar’s conversion to Buddhism, along with around six lakh followers. The event is associated with a significant annual movement of passengers towards Nagpur, making additional rail capacity important for people travelling between Maharashtra’s major urban centres.
Each special train will have 18 coaches, including 16 general second-class or sleeper-class coaches operated as unreserved coaches and two guard-cum-luggage vans. Central Railway said all coaches of Train Nos. 01215 and 01216 will be available on an unreserved basis.
Passengers can purchase tickets through the Unreserved Ticketing System, including the UTS mobile application and railway booking counters. Normal fares applicable to Superfast, Mail and Express trains will be charged for the services.
The trains will halt at Daund Chord Line, Ahilyanagar, Belapur, Kopargaon, Ankai, Manmad, Chalisgaon, Pachora, Jalgaon, Bhusaval, Malkapur, Shegaon, Akola, Murtizapur, Badnera, Dhamangaon, Pulgaon, Wardha and Ajni. Ankai will be a passing halt.
The route connects Pune with several cities and towns across western and eastern Maharashtra, including major railway junctions such as Manmad, Bhusaval, Akola, Badnera and Wardha. The scheduled services are designed to provide additional travel options during the four-day period around the observance.
Central Railway has advised passengers to check arrival and departure timings at their respective stations before beginning their journey. Updated information will be available through the Indian Railways enquiry portal and the National Train Enquiry System application.
