With over 500 million devotees participating in the holy dip at the Triveni Sangam, the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati, and millions more expected for Mahakumbh 2025, Northern Railway has announced the operation of a special Vande Bharat train on February 15, 16, and 17 to facilitate travel for devotees.
To accommodate pilgrims attending the Maha Kumbh Mela, Indian Railways will run the Vande Bharat Special train No. 02252/02251 between New Delhi and Varanasi (via Prayagraj) on the specified dates.
Vande Bharat Special Train No. 02252 will depart from New Delhi at 5:30 AM, reaching Prayagraj at 12:00 PM and Varanasi at 2:20 PM. On the return journey, Train No. 02251 will leave Varanasi at 3:15 PM, stopping at Prayagraj at 5:20 PM, and reaching New Delhi at 11:50 PM 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, Mahakumbh 2025 has become the first event in the world to record over 500 million direct participants, surpassing the populations of several major countries, including the United States, Russia, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. This makes Mahakumbh the largest spiritual gathering globally.
The local administration reported massive turnouts on key bathing days: 17 million on Paush Purnima, 35 million on Makar Sankranti, 76.4 million on Mauni Amavasya, 25.7 million on Basant Panchami, and 14 million on Magh Purnima. By 4:00 PM on Friday, over 7.9 million devotees had taken a dip in the Triveni Sangam.
Additionally, more than 200,000 Kalpavasis and approximately 7.7 million devotees attended the Mahakumbh Mela on Friday. Official data indicates that over 400,000 people travelled to the event via 140 trains.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has issued strict directives regarding traffic management during Mahakumbh, emphasizing that officers will be held accountable in case of congestion.
The 2025 Mahakumbh, which commenced on Paush Purnima (January 13, 2025), is the world’s largest spiritual and cultural gathering, drawing devotees from across the globe. The grand event will continue until Mahashivratri on February 26.