Plan Your Festive Journey: Railways’ New Scheme Offers Big Savings on Round Trips

With the holidays approaching, Indian Railways has introduced a new scheme termed “Round Trip Package Festival Rush” to ensure the convenience and touch of affordable prices for travellers on such crucial occasions as Diwali and Holi. This is a program taken by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to accommodate the massive rush of people who flock the railway stations during these high frequencies, and it offers a 20 percent discount on the base fare of the return tickets.

A Happy Holiday to Passengers

The programme aims to encourage pre-booking and alleviate stress caused by last-minute bookings, especially when many people are rushing during the holidays. The passengers will be offered a 20 percent discount over the base fare of their one-way ticket when they purchase the same round-trip tickets for onwards and return flights. To illustrate, a passenger can save much money travelling between October 13 and October 26, 2025, and on November 17 and December 1, 2025, provided that he or she travels between Delhi and Bihar or eastern Uttar Pradesh because of Chhath. In case the base fare of the return ticket was 1000, then it would cost the passenger only 800 after discount.

Considerable qualities and situations

There are several guidelines that passengers should adhere to when taking up this offer:

Same Passenger and Station Pair: The same passenger and station pair (Delhi-Patna-Delhi) should be on tickets.

Booking Process: The process of booking will have to include purchasing the onwards ticket first, followed by the purchase of the return ticket using the option of the connecting journey that is available in the booking platform. Remarkably, there is no Advance Reservation Period (ARP) on a return ticket; thus, it makes it more flexible.

Only confirmed tickets: Only confirmed payment may be given the discount. Waiting list tickets andReservation Against Cancellation (RAC) tickets are not allowed.

No Refunds or Amendments: The tickets bought via this scheme cannot be withdrawn or amended (including in terms of the name, date, or the class of the ticket).

One Booking Facility: The two tickets should be booked through the same means, whether online or over the counter.

Discount exclusivity: The scheme is exclusive to other discounts, vouchers, Privilege Ticket Orders (PTOs), railway passes and other concessions.

Trains Qualifying and Exceptions

The round trip package, which can be booked in Festival Rush, is not included for premium trains based on dynamic pricing, such as Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express, but is available in sleeper, AC and special trains. This ensures that this kind of programme will reach as high a passenger base as possible and the Indian railways will still get a chance to work their programmes.

An Astute Measure to Regulate Excited Mobs

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stressed the target of the scheme, saying lakhs of people travel to their hometowns during festivals like Diwali and Chhath, leading to jammed trains and stations. This programme will also allow us to manage crowds and plan special trains better by inviting people to book their tickets in advance. Advantages will be provided by early reservations to the railways so that they will be able to enhance passenger satisfaction and accelerate activities during holiday seasons.

To achieve the optimal reach of potential beneficiaries, the railway authorities are spreading information by using the news outlets, social media, media campaigns, and the ads in the stations to attract attention to the scheme and promote awareness.

Impact of This

Round Trip Package by Festival Rush is an ingenious idea because it not only addresses the logistical challenges of navigating through millions of passengers but also reduces the cost of festive travel. By offering financial incentives and encouraging bookings among Indians, mostly at peak holidays, to meet their travel needs, Indian Railways is already making a huge difference in the lives of a vast number of Indians.