Western Railway Announces Special Palitana-Bandra Superfast Train to Tackle Festival Rush for Jain Pilgrims
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
Western Railway has introduced a special superfast train between Palitana and Bandra Terminus to accommodate an influx of Jain pilgrims travelling between Mumbai and the holy hill town in Gujarat.
The service comes as a response to heightened passenger volume expected during upcoming religious festivities, offering critical relief on a heavily booked route.
Schedule and Key Halts
Train number 09023, the Bandra Terminus–Palitana Superfast Special, will depart Bandra at 7.25 pm on September 6, reaching Palitana at 9.25 am the following morning.
The return service, train number 09024, leaves Palitana at 8.00 pm on September 7 and arrives at Bandra Terminus at 9.30 am on September 8.
Both services will operate on special fares, catering to long-distance commuters across Gujarat and Maharashtra. The train is scheduled to halt at key intermediate stations, including:
- Sihor, Songadh, and Dhola
- Botad and Ahmedabad
- Anand, Vadodara, and Surat
- Valsad, Vapi, and Borivali
Bookings Open Across Counters and Online
Reservations for both directions opened on Saturday, September 5. Passengers can book tickets through official IRCTC portals or at physical passenger reservation centres.
Dinesh Verma, Divisional Railway Manager for the Bhavnagar Division, confirmed that operational arrangements were finalized after monitoring demand trends along the corridor. Rail officials expect the additional service to ease congestion across regular express trains connecting Saurashtra to Mumbai.
