Maharashtra: Central Railway to run 76 winter special trains to ease Christmas and New Year rush

To manage the holiday rush during Christmas New Year and winter vacations Central Railway has announced 76 Winter Special train services connecting Mumbai and Pune with key destinations including Karmali Nagpur Mangaluru Thiruvananthapuram Amravati and SanganerThe services will operate between December 2025 and early January 2026 offering travellers additional options during the peak seasonKey winter special servicesMumbai CSMTndashKarmali Daily Specials 36 servicesbull Train 01151 Departs CSMT at 1220 am Dec 19ndashJan 5bull Train 01152 Departs Karmali at 215 pm Dec 19ndashJan 5LTTndashThiruvananthapuram North Weekly Specials 8 servicesbull Train 01171 Thursdays from LTTbull Train 01172 Saturdays from Thiruvananthapuram NorthLTTndashMangaluru Junction Weekly Specials 8 servicesbull Train 01185 Tuesdays from LTTbull Train 01186 Wednesdays from Mangaluru JnCSMTndashNagpur Weekly Specials 6 servicesbull Train 01005 Saturdays from CSMTbull Train 01006 Saturdays from NagpurPunendashNagpur Weekly Specials 6 servicesbull Train 01401 Fridays from Punebull Train 01402 Saturdays from NagpurPunendashSanganer Weekly Superfast Specials 6 servicesbull Train 01405 Fridays from Punebull Train 01406 Saturdays from SanganerPunendashAmravati Weekly Specials 6 servicesbull Train 01403 Saturdays from Punebull Train 01404 Sundays from AmravatiBooking opens on WednesdayThe announcement was issued on Tuesday by Dr Swapnil Nila Chief Public Relations Officer Central Railway MumbaiSanpada tender sparks rumours on 15car Harbour line trains Railways deny planA new tender for upgrading Sanpada car shed to maintain 15car trains has triggered speculation that the Railways may be preparing to introduce 15car locals on the Harbour line as wellCentral Railway is converting 20 existing 12car rakes into 15car rakes on the main line marking one of the largest capacity boosts in more than a decadeWhere the upgrade applies Main line onlygtgt CSMTKarjatgtgt CSMTKhopoligtgt CSMTKasaraOperational impact of 15car trainsgtgt Longer clearance time for each sectiongtgt Changes in acceleration and braking patternsgtgt Need to revise schedulesgtgt Higher risk of cascading delays if not managed wellPurposegtgt Modify overhead electrical equipmentgtgt Enable handling of 15coach rakesgtgt Support main line deployment of 15car trainsInfrastructure work under MUTP IIIAUpgrades atgtgt Kurla car shedgtgt Kalva car shedgtgt Sanpada car shedlsquoGood idearsquoSubhash Gupta Pravasi SanghldquoThe idea of 15car trains on the Harbour line is good but the priority should be the main line We need longer trains beyond Thane and Kalyan firstrdquoRamika Yadav commuterldquoThe Harbour line is neglected Any improvement is welcome More 15car trains overall will help ease crowdsrdquoJanardhan Kumar PatelldquoThe Harbour line needs better punctuality and frequency first Crowding is severe beyond Kurla towards Panvel The transharbour needs upgrades toordquoRavalnath PrabhuldquoWe cannot keep extending trains endlessly After 15 cars there will be calls for 18 and so on The system needs stabilityrdquoWhat Railways say about Harbour lineCR officials insist there is no plan to convert Harbour line services to 15car trains ldquoThe Sanpada car shed also handles main line rakes so it is being upgraded along with Kalwa and Kurla The Harbour line has no space left for 15car operations Even the shift from ninecar to 12car platforms was extremely difficult so extending to 15car is not feasiblerdquo an official saidFinal wordHarbour line will remain 12car The Sanpada tender relates only to the main line upgrade