Taking note of the huge demand for tickets ahead of the Onam festival in Kerala, the railway has notified as many as 112 special trains to and from Kerala so far to ease the seasonal rush, clear wait-listed passenger queues, and ensure smooth, convenient travel. The trains were notified by the Southern Railway, in close coordination with the neighbouring key zonal railways such as South Central Railway (SCR), South Western Railway (SWR) and South Eastern Railway (SER).According to the Southern Railway, Indian Railways launched an extensive fleet of special train operations connecting major cities in South India and States in the eastern corridor with Kerala in order to meet the massive surge in passenger traffic during the festival season. It has also extended the periodicity of key existing special train services considering the huge demand.Since Onam is an important travel season, drawing thousands of non-resident Keralites, professionals, students, and tourists traveling back home from neighboring States and major metro hubs across India, the railways will continue to closely monitor wait-list trends and travel demand across all major routes and provide additional trains, if necessary, said the railways.This is in addition to the officially notified 112 special train trips for Onam to date. The notified Onam special services are scheduled to operate primarily across the peak festive period spanning August 14 to September 06. The operational schedule for Onam 2026 also shows a significant expansion in service capacity compared to the Onam festival season in 2025.Overall, notified Onam special trip operations have nearly doubled (103%), rising from 55 trips in 2025 to 112 in 2026, driven largely by Southern Railway’s planning and significant inter-railway collaboration with other zonal railways. Published - August 10, 2026 08:00 pm IST