In response to the ongoing disruptions caused by widespread IndiGo flight cancellations, Indian Railways has significantly expanded its services to accommodate stranded passengers. As of December 5, 2025, Railways has added 116 coaches to 37 premium trains. Furthermore, Railways is planning to introduce 30 new special trains, each with 18 coaches.

Responding to the IndiGo Crisis

The move comes as IndiGo has been forced to cancel over 400 flights, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at airports across the country. The disruptions, which have stretched into their fourth day, are reportedly due to crew shortages and regulatory changes in Flight Duty Time Limitations. This has led to chaotic scenes at airports, with passengers facing extensive delays and misplaced baggage.

Railway's Capacity Boost

To alleviate the situation, Indian Railways has deployed 116 extra coaches across 37 trains on multiple zones. These augmentations, comprising Sleeper, AC Chair Car, and General Second-Class segments, are being implemented based on the specific requirements of each route. These 37 trains originate from major railway junctions across cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow, Jammu Tawi, Patna, Howrah, and Chennai, providing connectivity to several cities. The increased number of coaches would be introduced from the upcoming services of these trains and will continue until the problem persists.

Northern Railways has also planned five special trains and is preparing to roll out additional services to absorb heavy passenger traffic. The Northern Railway has already increased 3AC and Chair Car coaches in four premium trains. One 3AC coach each has been added to the 12425/26 Jammu Rajdhani Express and 12424/23 Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express. Additionally, one AC Chair Car coach each has been added to the 12045/46 Chandigarh Shatabdi Express and 12030/29 Amritsar Shatabdi Express.

Central Railway has announced it will run six special trains on key long-distance routes on December 6 and 7 to clear the extra rush of passengers.

Extensive Augmentation Details

The 116 coaches have been added through 114 augmented trips, which can carry up to 4,000 passengers per trip and accommodate 489,288 passengers overall. The 30 new special trains, with 18 coaches each, are capable of carrying 30,780 passengers per trip. Across 57 trips, these trains will cater to 2,116,800 travelers. In total, these arrangements are expected to handle 35,000 passengers per day, ensuring connectivity for nearly 2.6 million passengers during this period.

Several railway zones are contributing to this effort. Southern Railway has enhanced its capacity by 18 trains. Western Railway has increased the capacity to four high-demand trains by adding 3AC and 2AC coaches. East Central Railway has strengthened the Rajendra Nagar–New Delhi service with additional 2AC coaches over five trips between December 6–10, 2025. East Coast Railway has augmented the Bhubaneswar–New Delhi services by adding 2AC coaches across five trips. Eastern Railway has implemented augmentations in three key trains, adding Sleeper Class coaches over six trips on December 7–8, 2025. Northeast Frontier Railway has augmented two important trains with 3AC and Sleeper coaches over eight trips each from December 6–13, 2025.

Continued Monitoring and Potential Further Action

Railway officials have stated that they are closely monitoring the situation and may run special fully air-conditioned trains on several routes connecting big and small cities if the need arises. This is to ensure that passengers do not face inconvenience due to flight disruptions.