Trivandrum: To meet the massive surge in passenger traffic during the auspicious festival of Onam, Indian Railways and Southern Railway have launched an extensive fleet of special trains. A total of 112 Onam special train trips have been officially notified to run during the festival period spanning August 14, 2026 to September 06, 2026.
To ease the seasonal rush, clear waitlisted passenger queues, and ensure smooth, convenient travel, Southern Railway, in close coordination with the neighbouring key Zonal Railways such as South Central Railway (SCR), South Western Railway (SWR) and South Eastern Railway (SER), has notified a large array of exclusive Onam specials and extended the periodicity of key existing special train services. Overall notified Onam special trip operations have nearly doubled (103%), growing from 55 trips in 2025 to 112 trips in 2026.
The Onam special trains strategically connect major suburban and metropolitan origins with important terminals in Kerala via primary arterial routes:
1. Chennai & Tamil Nadu Hubs to Kerala (SR)
Connecting prominent Tamil Nadu cities – including Dr MGR Chennai Central, Tambaram, Chennai Egmore, and Mangaluru Central and these services run to primary Kerala destinations such as Kollam Junction and Thiruvananthapuram Central.
2. Bengaluru, Mysuru & Karnataka Corridor (SWR Coordination)
South Western Railway has notified dedicated Onam special services catering to high-density passenger movement into Kerala from major Karnataka hubs including Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminal Bengaluru, Bangalore Cantonment, Mysuru Junction, and Hubballi.
3. Telangana & Andhra Pradesh Corridor (SCR Coordination)
To serve Keralites residing in the Telugu states, South Central Railway has notified special operations connecting origins like Hyderabad and Cherlappalli directly to key destinations including Kollam and Mangaluru Central.
4. Eastern Corridor (SER Coordination)
South Eastern Railway has notified Onam specials linking West Bengal and Eastern India to key destinations across Kerala along the Santragachi–Thiruvananthapuram/Ernakulam primary route.