Diwali 2026 Rush: A Booking Calendar for Bihar Train Travel

Diwali falls around 8 November 2026, so the heaviest travel days for Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand run from late October into the middle of November. The festival follows the lunar calendar, so confirm the exact date on an official calendar before you fix a return. The good news is that the booking window for these dates is already open, which makes this a planning exercise rather than a race.

What is already bookable today

Reserved tickets open 60 days before the journey date, and the travel day itself is not counted. As of today, 11 October, the window covers journeys up to 10 December. Every Diwali date has been bookable for weeks, so the seats that go first are already being sold. Our advance reservation guide shows how to count the days for any date.

Daily trains from Delhi to Bihar

These trains run from New Delhi and are shown with the scheduled departure and arrival in our timetable data. Check the days on the train page before you book, because the day listed is the day the train starts from New Delhi.

The Shramjivi and the Poorva both stop at Patna, so you can check Patna Junction arrival times before you plan the last leg. The Shramjivi carries on to Rajgir, and the Poorva to Howrah. The Bihar Sampark Kranti passes Gorakhpur and then Muzaffarpur before ending at Darbhanga. Our earlier Diwali guide has the wider list of options.

A simple way to use this list: pick one train as your main choice for each leg and one as the same-day alternative, then check both on the morning you book. A train that fits your timing is worth more than a faster one you cannot get seats on.

Alternate stations in Delhi

New Delhi is the busiest station for these trains, but it is not the only option. Old Delhi, Delhi Sarai Rohilla and Anand Vihar Terminal each have many departures in our database, and a nearby station can save a long wait in the queue. Check the station on the train's own page, because the station name on a ticket is the one you board from.

• New Delhi (NDLS): 342 trains in our database
• Delhi Jn, Old Delhi (DLI): 262 trains
• Delhi Sarai Rohilla (DEE): 82 trains
• Anand Vihar Terminal (ANVT): 160 trains

Since 1 April 2026, you can change the boarding point once, on a confirmed or RAC ticket, up to 30 minutes before departure. Waitlisted tickets cannot make the change, and there is no refund for the stretch you skip. Our guide to alternate boarding stations explains how to compare the options before you book.

Tatkal is a fallback, not a plan

Tatkal opens one day before the journey, at 10:00 for AC classes and 11:00 for non-AC classes. Aadhaar-based OTP authentication is mandatory for Tatkal bookings. In festival weeks Tatkal seats can go in minutes, so treat it as the last option rather than the main one. Our Tatkal timing guide covers the windows in more detail.

Specials: check the run days before you plan

Festival specials are often added for the rush, and they tend to run on a few days only, sometimes from a station you do not usually use. We have not confirmed a Diwali special with a train number and running days, so none is listed here. When one is announced, open its train page and check the days, timings and stops before you build a plan around it. Our festival specials guide explains how specials are numbered and listed, and our note on duplicate specials covers the confusion that happens when two trains share a name.

A checklist for the next three weeks

• This week: link Aadhaar on IRCTC, confirm the run days of your outbound and return trains, and note two backup trains for each leg.
• Late October: check the seat status of your outbound train. If it is still waitlisted with only a few days left, book the alternate station or a different train.
• Before the journey: open the live status on the train page on the day you travel. Running times can shift on the day, so a check that morning is worth the minute it takes.

If your dates are fixed and no train has seats, moving the journey by a day is often a better bet than relying on Tatkal. The crowds peak in the days just before the festival, so a day earlier or later can have far more availability. Check the same route on the trip planner for each date before you decide.

For the wider picture of planning around crowds, see our guide to travelling around the festival rush. The same rules apply to Chhath, which follows about a week after Diwali.