The South Eastern Railway has decided to run a special train between Howrah and Hatia from September 30 to accommodate the extra rush of passengers during the festival season ahead.

The special train which will run for three months till December 31 will go via Tatanagar railway station.

According to a notification issued by the Calcutta-based headquarters of SER on Saturday, the Howrah-Hatia Special (08615) will leave Howrah daily at 9.30 pm.

The train will reach Hatia at 6.30 am the next day. In the opposite direction, the Hatia-Howrah Special (08616) will leave Hatia daily at 9.40 pm and will arrive at Howrah at 6.30 am the next day, covering a journey of about nine hours.

The Up train from Howrah will reach Tatanagar railway station at 1.40am while the return train from Hatia will reach Tatanagar at around 2.15am.

The special train with one first AC, two AC two-tier, four AC three-tier, eleven sleeper class and two general second class coaches will stop at Mecheda, Kharagpur, Jhargram, Ghatsila, Tatanagar, Muri and Ranchi between the two destinations- Howrah and Hatia.

The return train Hatia-Howrah Special (08616) will also stop at Santragachi.

A spokesperson of South Eastern Railway said the decision for introducing the special train was taken to ease the festive rush.

"Various passenger outfits had also demanded a special train between the two destinations via Tatanagar for clearing extra rush of passengers during the festive season. The special train will immensely benefit passengers," said the SER spokesman.

The SER headquarters, in a separate circular, appealed to passengers to follow Covid appropriate behaviour during their journey.