LUCKNOW, Oct. 19 -- With passenger footfall expected to rise during the festive season, the North Eastern Railway (NER) has introduced a weekly special train between Gorakhpur and Narangi in Guwahati, offering additional travel options for passengers heading towards Bihar, West Bengal and Assam. The railways has also announced route diversions for eight express trains on selected dates in October. According to railway officials, the Gorakhpur-Narangi special train will have seven trips in each direction. The special train departing from Narangi every Friday began operations on October 16 and will continue until November 27. The return service will depart from Gorakhpur every Sunday from October 18 to November 29. The Narangi-Gorakhpur special will leave Narangi at 8 pm on Fridays and reach Gorakhpur at 9.40 pm the following day. In the opposite direction, the train will depart from Gorakhpur at 1.10 am on Sundays and reach Narangi at 3 am on Mondays. NER chief public relations officer Sumit Kumar said the special service had been introduced to accommodate additional passenger demand during the ongoing festive season. Eight express trains to run on diverted routes Meanwhile, passengers travelling between Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Gujarat may face changes in their journeys as the railway has announced diversions affecting eight express train services. According to a railways notification, the affected trains will operate through alternative routes involving Mahadeokhedi, Bina Malkhedi and Agasod on specified dates. The Surat-Muzaffarpur Express, departing on October 23, and the Muzaffarpur-Surat Express, departing on October 18, will operate on diverted routes. Similarly, the Gorakhpur-Okha Express scheduled for October 22 and the Okha-Gorakhpur Express scheduled for October 18 will also be diverted. The Ahmedabad-Darbhanga Express will follow the revised route on October 18, 21 and 23, while the Darbhanga-Ahmedabad Express will be diverted on October 17, 19, 21 and 24. The Ahmedabad-Varanasi City Express will operate on the alternative route on October 17, 19, 20, 22 and 24. During the return journey, the train will be diverted on October 18, 20, 22 and 23....