As millions of devotees gather for the Mahakumbh 2025, Northern Railway has announced the operation of a special Vande Bharat train to facilitate their journey. With over 500 million devotees expected to participate in the holy event at the Triveni Sangam, where the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers converge, the Vande Bharat Special train will run on February 15, 16, and 17 to accommodate the influx of pilgrims.
The Vande Bharat Special train, No. 02252/02251, will run between New Delhi and Varanasi (via Prayagraj). The train is designed to offer a comfortable and efficient travel experience for those heading to the Mahakumbh.
Train no. 02252 will depart from New Delhi at 5:30 AM, pass through Prayagraj at 12:00 PM, and arrive in Varanasi at 2:20 PM. In the return direction, train no. 02251 will depart Varanasi at 3:15 PM, pass through Prayagraj at 5:20 PM, and reach New Delhi at 11:50 PM on the same day.
Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay, Chief Public Relations Officer of Northern Railway, stated, “To provide special facilities to the people going to the Maha Kumbh on weekends to take a holy dip, Indian Railways is running a special Vande Bharat train. This train will operate on February 15, 16, and 17. It will leave New Delhi at 5:30 AM and reach Varanasi at 2:20 PM via Prayagraj. After that, it will depart Varanasi at 3:15 PM and reach New Delhi at 11:50 PM.”
The Mahakumbh has become a historic event, drawing over 500 million direct participants, surpassing the population of several major countries like the United States, Russia, and Brazil. The Mahakumbh is now recognized as the world’s largest spiritual gathering. On key dates such as Paush Purnima, Makar Sankranti, Mauni Amavasya, Basant Panchami, and Magh Purnima, millions of devotees have taken part in the sacred dip. As of Friday afternoon, more than 7.9 million people had visited the Triveni Sangam.
The Uttar Pradesh government reported that 200,000 Kalpavasis and 7.7 million devotees attended the event on Friday, with over 400,000 people traveling via 140 trains. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has issued directives for smooth traffic management during the event, emphasizing accountability for congestion-related issues.
The 2025 Mahakumbh, which began on January 13 with Paush Purnima, is set to continue until Mahashivratri on February 26, 2025, attracting devotees from all over the world.
