Four extra Vande Bharat runs, all stopping at Kanpur Central

With Chhath Puja a few days away and confirmed tickets to Bihar almost impossible to find, Indian Railways has announced two more pairs of Vande Bharat Festival Special trains between New Delhi and Patna. According to Northern Railway as reported by Indian Express and Daily Jagran, the trains run on 11 and 13 November from Delhi, with return trips on 12 and 14 November. Each has 16 coaches and six scheduled halts: Aligarh Junction, Kanpur Central, Prayagraj Junction, Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction, Buxar and Ara. For Kanpur travellers these are extra daytime chair-car seats on the route in the festival week.

Dates and timings

Daily Jagran lists the timings as follows.

  • Train 02258, New Delhi to Patna, Wednesday 11 November: leaves New Delhi at 5:00 am and reaches Patna Junction at 6:30 pm.
  • Train 02257, Patna to New Delhi, 12 November: leaves Patna at 8:00 am and reaches New Delhi at 9:30 pm.
  • Train 02436, New Delhi to Patna, 13 November: leaves New Delhi at 8:35 am and reaches Patna at 9:30 pm.
  • Train 02435, Patna to New Delhi, 14 November: leaves Patna at 8:00 am and reaches New Delhi at 9:30 pm.

The reports do not give the Kanpur Central arrival and departure times. Check them on the IRCTC site or the NTES app before you travel. Bookings for both pairs have opened online and at counters.

What it costs, and how it compares

Indian Express compared fares for the earlier Vande Bharat special, train 02252. That train costs Rs 2,615 in the AC Chair Car and Rs 4,695 in the Executive Chair Car, and covers the 995 km in 13 hours 30 minutes. The newspaper did not publish separate fares for the four new services, so do not assume they are identical; look at the fare on the booking page.

For comparison, the Tejas Rajdhani Express on 14 November is priced at Rs 2,545 in Third AC, Rs 3,475 in Second AC and Rs 4,260 in First AC, and takes about 11 hours 28 minutes with stops at Kanpur Central, Prayagraj, Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction, Danapur and Patna. The Sampoorna Kranti Express costs Rs 540 in Sleeper, Rs 1,390 in Third AC and Rs 1,955 in Second AC, and takes about 13 hours 8 minutes. So the Vande Bharat special is dearer than the faster Rajdhani and takes about two hours longer. The reason, Indian Express explains, is pricing: Vande Bharat trains do not use dynamic or flexi fares, while the Tejas Rajdhani does, and the special is a chair-car service built mainly for journeys of up to 700 km.

Why everything is full

Both the Vande Bharat special and the Tejas Rajdhani are fully booked for the next few weeks, Indian Express reports. Patna Press adds that the Sampoorna Kranti Express and the Tejas Rajdhani have hit regret or no-room status, and the Magadh Express has a waiting list above 150. Mumbai-to-Bihar trains are in the same position. The railways has responded with extra coaches on regular trains, festival specials, unreserved specials and these Vande Bharat runs. To prevent crowding, platform ticket sales have been suspended at 12 stations of East Central Railway, among them Patna Junction, Danapur, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Ara and Buxar, so only passengers with a valid journey ticket can enter. Patna Press names only 11 of the 12 stations.

Booking glitches

On Tuesday 10 November several users complained on X that the IRCTC site would not open. IRCTC said the portal was working and that some users saw delayed logins because of an unusually high number of simultaneous attempts during Diwali and Chhath booking. It said the problem was temporary and e-ticketing was normal again. Advance reservation opens at 8 am, and Tatkal opens at 10 am for AC classes and 11 am for non-AC classes, which are the moments when load spikes.

What to do now

If you are leaving Kanpur for Prayagraj, Varanasi or Bihar this week, check seat availability on the Vande Bharat specials first, then the unreserved specials. Chhath runs from 13 to 16 November 2026, according to Newsd, so the 13 November departure is the last one that gets you to Patna on the first day of the festival. Carry a valid ticket, because platform entry is restricted at Bihar stations. Kahaan Kya Hua will update this story if the railways add more services.