Railways Announces Diwali-Chhath Puja Round Trip Discount; Booking Opens 14 August
Reported by Amit Singh
New Delhi, 9th August 2025: To manage festival season rush and ensure hassle-free bookings, Indian Railways has introduced an experimental Round Trip Package Scheme offering discounted fares for passengers booking both onward and return journeys during Diwali and Chhath travel periods. The initiative aims to redistribute peak traffic and improve two-way utilisation of regular and special trains.
Under the scheme, passengers booking confirmed tickets for both onward and return travel for the same set of travellers, in the same class and origin–destination pair, will receive a 20% rebate on the base fare of the return journey. Passenger details for both trips must match.
Booking Dates and Travel Periods
Booking for onward journeys will open on 14 August 2025 for travel between 13 October 2025 and 26 October 2025.
Return journey bookings must be made using the connecting journey feature for travel between 17 November 2025 and 1 December 2025.
Advance Reservation Period will not apply for return bookings.
The offer applies to all classes and trains, including special trains, but excludes services with Flexi Fare. Tickets booked under this scheme will be non-refundable, non-modifiable, and not eligible for additional concessions, coupons, vouchers, passes, or PTOs. Both legs of the journey must be booked through the same mode—either online or at reservation counters.
No additional fare will be collected at the time of charting for such bookings.
