Northern Railways to run special Vande Bharat via Prayagraj for Mahakumbh

With over 500 million devotees taking a holy dip at the Triveni Sangam, the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati on Friday and millions more devotees are expected to descend for Mahakumbh 2025, Northern Railway announced to operate a special Vande Bharat train on February 15, 16, and 17 for devotees.

For the convenience of devotees intending to visit the Maha Kumbh Mela, Railways will run Vande Bharat Special train No. 02252/02251 on February 15, 16 and 17 between New Delhi and Varanasi (via Prayagraj).

The Vande Bharat Special Train no 02252 will depart from New Delhi at 5.30 hrs (via Prayagraj at 12.00 hrs) to reach Varanasi at 14.20 hrs.

In the return direction, Vande Bharat Special train no 02251 will depart from Varanasi at 15.15 hrs (Prayagraj at 17.20 hrs) to reach New Delhi at 23.50 hrs. the same day.

"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 run on 15th, 16th and 17th February...This Vande Bharat special train will leave from New Delhi station at 5.30 am and will reach Varanasi at 2.20 pm via Prayagraj. After this, this train will leave Varanasi station at 3.15 pm and will reach New Delhi at 11.50 pm," said Chief Public Relations Officer of Northern Railway, Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay.

According to the Uttar Pradesh administration, the Mahakumbh has become the first event in the world to have more than 500 million direct participants.

This number exceeds the population of several major countries, including the United States, Russia, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, making the Mahakumbh the largest spiritual gathering in the world.

The local administration reported that 17 million devotees took a dip on Paush Purnima, followed by 35 million on Makar Sankranti, 76.4 million on Mauni Amavasya, 25.7 million on Basant Panchami, and 14 million on Magh Purnima. As of 4:00 PM on Friday, over 7.9 million devotees had taken a dip in the Triveni Sangam.

The Uttar Pradesh government also noted that more than 200,000 Kalpavasis and approximately 7.7 million devotees attended the Mahakumbh Mela on Friday. Over 400,000 people travelled through 140 trains to attend the event, as per official data.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has issued strict directives on traffic management during the Mahakumbh, stressing that officers will be held accountable in case of congestion.

The 2025 Mahakumbh, which began on Paush Purnima (January 13, 2025), is the world's largest spiritual and cultural gathering, attracting devotees from across the globe. The grand event will continue until Mahashivratri on February 26.