With the Dussehra and Deepavali festival season approaching, Indian Railways has taken a key decision to manage heavy passenger rush by introducing multiple special trains, particularly benefiting devotees traveling to Tirumala Tirupati Temple.

As part of these services, a special train from Tirupati to Shirdi (07637) will run every Sunday. The train departs from Tirupati at 4:00 AM and reaches Shirdi the next day at 10:45 AM. The return service, Shirdi-Tirupati (07638), leaves Shirdi every Monday at 7:35 PM, arriving at Tirupati on Wednesday at 1:30 PM.

Similarly, a special train from Tirupati to Jalna (07610) departs every Tuesday at 3:15 PM, reaching Jalna the next day at 3:50 PM. The return train, Jalna-Tirupati (07609), leaves Jalna every Monday at 7:00 AM and arrives at Tirupati the next day at 10:45 AM. Both trains will halt at important stations in Andhra Pradesh, including Renigunta, Gudur, Nellore, Ongole, Chirala, Tenali, Guntur, Sattenapalli, Piduguralla, and Nadikudi.

Additionally, special trains are running on routes like Chennai-Shalimar and Kanyakumari-Hyderabad. To handle the festival rush, a total of 470 special trains are being operated by the South Central Railway zone. Of these, 170 trains will run entirely within the South Central Railway network, while the rest will traverse routes from other railway zones.

Passengers are advised to book tickets in advance and plan their journeys accordingly.