Diwali & Chhath Puja 2026 train tickets from Delhi
Diwali falls on Sunday 8 November and Chhath Puja runs from 13 to 16 November. Booking for every festival date is already open, and on the Bihar and eastern UP trains most of it is waitlisted. Holding a waiting list, or can't find a berth at all? Send us the PNR or your route — we'll tell you honestly whether it will clear, and book what confirms.
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Already holding a festival waiting list?
Festival waiting lists move less than usual, because very few people cancel a trip home for Chhath. Send us the PNR and we'll tell you honestly whether it is likely to clear, and what to book now if it isn't. No agent can add berths to a sold-out train; what we promise is a straight answer early, and a confirmed ticket or 100% refund.
Booking for the whole family?
Send every passenger's name, age and gender in one message and we book the party together wherever the train allows. For bigger groups — a housing society, a village, or a company sending staff home for Chhath — use the group booking form.
Group booking form →Diwali and Chhath at a glance
Sunday
8 November
Diwali
Lakshmi Puja
Friday
13 November
Nahay Khay
Chhath begins
Saturday
14 November
Kharna
Day two
Sunday
15 November
Sandhya Arghya
Evening offering
Monday
16 November
Usha Arghya
Chhath ends
Your Tatkal day, date by date
General booking is already open for every festival date. Tatkal is the second chance: it opens one day before travel, at 10:00 AM for AC classes and 11:00 AM for non-AC.
Going home for Diwali
| Travel on | Tatkal opens |
|---|---|
| Tue 3 Nov | Mon 2 Nov… |
| Wed 4 Nov | Tue 3 Nov… |
| Thu 5 Nov | Wed 4 Nov… |
| Fri 6 Nov | Thu 5 Nov… |
| Sat 7 Nov | Fri 6 Nov… |
Going home for Chhath
| Travel on | Tatkal opens |
|---|---|
| Mon 9 Nov | Sun 8 Nov… |
| Tue 10 Nov | Mon 9 Nov… |
| Wed 11 Nov | Tue 10 Nov… |
| Thu 12 Nov | Wed 11 Nov… |
| Fri 13 Nov | Thu 12 Nov… |
Coming back to Delhi
| Travel on | Tatkal opens |
|---|---|
| Mon 16 Nov | Sun 15 Nov… |
| Tue 17 Nov | Mon 16 Nov… |
| Wed 18 Nov | Tue 17 Nov… |
| Thu 19 Nov | Wed 18 Nov… |
| Fri 20 Nov | Thu 19 Nov… |
Check your own date
- Booking opens
- Sun 13 Sep 2026, 8:00 AM
- …
- Tatkal opens
- Wed 11 Nov 2026
- 10:00 AM for AC classes, 11:00 AM for non-AC
Count from the day the train leaves its starting station. A few short-distance trains open later than 60 days.
Plan your December and January trips now
Festival week is the hardest week of the year to confirm a berth. December and January are the easiest to plan, if you book while the 60-day window is open. Christmas to New Year, the school winter break, the wedding season and the Republic Day weekend all fall inside it.
Booking opens 60 days before the journey, at 8:00 AM. One more date opens every morning.
Christmas to New Year
| Travel on | Booking opens |
|---|---|
| Thu 24 Dec | Sun 25 Oct… |
| Fri 25 Dec | Mon 26 Oct… |
| Sat 26 Dec | Tue 27 Oct… |
| Thu 31 Dec | Sun 1 Nov… |
| Fri 1 Jan | Mon 2 Nov… |
| Sun 3 Jan | Wed 4 Nov… |
Lohri, Sankranti, Pongal
| Travel on | Booking opens |
|---|---|
| Tue 12 Jan | Fri 13 Nov… |
| Wed 13 Jan | Sat 14 Nov… |
| Thu 14 Jan | Sun 15 Nov… |
| Sat 16 Jan | Tue 17 Nov… |
| Sun 17 Jan | Wed 18 Nov… |
Republic Day weekend
| Travel on | Booking opens |
|---|---|
| Fri 22 Jan | Mon 23 Nov… |
| Sat 23 Jan | Tue 24 Nov… |
| Tue 26 Jan | Fri 27 Nov… |
| Wed 27 Jan | Sat 28 Nov… |
Check your own date
- Booking opens
- Sun 25 Oct 2026, 8:00 AM
- …
- Tatkal opens
- Wed 23 Dec 2026
- 10:00 AM for AC classes, 11:00 AM for non-AC
Count from the day the train leaves its starting station. A few short-distance trains open later than 60 days.
Where people go in winter
Not one corridor. Holiday routes, temple runs and the middle sectors the apps leave to chance. Tell us the route and dates, and we say what will confirm before you pay.
Mumbai ↔ Goa
Christmas and New Year week books out first on the Konkan line.
Indore, Bhopal, Nagpur ↔ Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune
Middle sectors with few direct trains, where booking early matters more than on the trunk routes.
Bengaluru, Chennai ↔ Kochi and Kerala
Kerala's winter season and Sabarimala pilgrims share the same trains.
Delhi, Mumbai ↔ Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur
Wedding season and New Year in Rajasthan.
Delhi ↔ Kathgodam, Dehradun, Katra
Winter break in the hills and Vaishno Devi; short overnight runs that fill on long weekends.
Hyderabad, Bengaluru ↔ Tirupati, Mysuru
Temple weekends; Vaikunta Ekadasi falls around 20 December.
Kolkata ↔ Puri, New Jalpaiguri
Puri and the Darjeeling hills over Christmas week.
Travelling in Chhath week? It is the hardest week of the year to confirm. We check before we book and tell you straight. Confirmed berth or 100% refund — RAC doesn't count
How to get a berth for the festival
Read your waiting list before you wait on it
The letters matter more than the number. A general waiting list (GNWL) booked from the train's starting station is a far stronger position than a remote-location or pooled list (RLWL, PQWL) at a lower number — and festival lists move less than usual, because few people cancel a trip home.
Move your journey by a day or two
The days just before Chhath are the most oversubscribed of the season. Leaving two or three days earlier, or coming back a day later, often turns a hopeless waiting list into a confirmed berth.
Check every Delhi terminal
Many Bihar-bound trains leave from Anand Vihar Terminal and Old Delhi, not only New Delhi. Looking across all of them widens the choice considerably.
Look one class up
When Sleeper and 3A are waitlisted, 2A or First AC on the same corridor sometimes still has berths. For a family going home, a confirmed 2A beats a waitlisted 3A.
Watch for festival special trains
Railways usually adds festival specials for Diwali and Chhath and announces them in the weeks before. They open for booking when announced, often with good availability at first. Tell us your route and we'll book as soon as a suitable one opens.
Keep Tatkal as the second chance
Tatkal opens one day before the journey, at 10:00 AM for AC classes and 11:00 AM for non-AC. On festival dates it is the most contested booking of the year, so treat it as a backup, not the plan.
Not sure which Delhi station your train leaves from? Delhi's five terminals, explained →
The festival corridors from Delhi
Delhi to Patna →
The heart of Chhath travel, and the hardest tickets of the season.
Delhi to Gorakhpur →
Eastern UP, and the route many north Bihar trains take.
Delhi to Varanasi →
Purvanchal families going home, and pilgrims visiting the ghats.
Delhi to Lucknow →
Short enough for a day train, busy enough to sell out over Diwali.
Delhi to Kolkata →
Kali Puja falls on Diwali night, so eastbound trains fill early.
Delhi to Ayodhya →
Deepotsav, on the eve of Diwali, brings huge crowds to Ayodhya.
And every other festival destination — Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Gaya, Bhagalpur, Siwan, Chhapra, Saharsa, Purnia, Raxaul, Ranchi, Dhanbad, Prayagraj, Ballia and Deoria.
Tatkal for festival travel, city by city
Missed the 60-day window? Tatkal opens one day before travel. Pick the city you're leaving from.
What our customers say
“Messaged at 9:50 AM for a same-day AC Tatkal. They were ready at 10 sharp and I had a confirmed berth within minutes. A real person beats refreshing the app yourself.”
“Booked Tatkal for our whole family in one go on WhatsApp. Super smooth, kept us updated.”
Diwali and Chhath train booking, answered
When does train booking open for Chhath Puja 2026?+
Sixty days before the journey, not counting the journey date, at 8:00 AM. For travel on 12 November, booking opened on 13 September; for a return on 17 November, it opens on 18 September. The date checker on this page works it out for any date.
When is Chhath Puja in 2026?+
Chhath Puja 2026 runs from Friday 13 November (Nahay Khay) to Monday 16 November (Usha Arghya), with Kharna on Saturday 14 November and Sandhya Arghya on Sunday 15 November.
When is Diwali in 2026?+
Diwali is on Sunday 8 November 2026.
Will there be Chhath special trains in 2026?+
Indian Railways has run festival special trains for Diwali and Chhath in previous years and usually announces them a few weeks ahead. Nobody can book one until it is announced — tell us your route and we'll book as soon as a suitable special opens.
My Chhath ticket is still waitlisted. What should I do?+
Check the list type first: a general waiting list from the starting station has a real chance, a pooled or remote-location list rarely clears. If yours is weak, line up a backup now — another train, terminal, class or a day either side — rather than waiting for the chart. Send us the PNR and we'll give you a straight answer and book what confirms: a confirmed berth, or a 100% refund.
Is a waiting list ticket for Chhath worth booking?+
Only with care. Festival waiting lists move less than usual because few people cancel a trip home. A general waiting list booked early on a long route has a chance; a pooled or remote-location list rarely clears. Send us the PNR for an honest read.
Can I book Tatkal for Diwali or Chhath travel?+
Yes. Tatkal opens one day before the journey, at 10:00 AM for AC classes and 11:00 AM for non-AC classes. On festival dates it is extremely contested, so book general quota first and keep Tatkal as a backup.