Punjab, Sept. 27 -- Diwali falls on 8 November this year - eighteen days later than in 2025. That single shift has rearranged the entire festive travel calendar, and the booking window for it has already opened and largely closed.
The dates
Navratri and Durga Puja in mid-October, then a three-week gap, then Diwali and Chhath back to back. Last year those clustered; this year they do not.
The trains have already gone
IRCTC recorded 20 lakh bookings on 7 September and 19.5 lakh the next day. Diwali travel for 6 to 8 November opened between 7 and 9 September, on the 120-day advance window.
If you are reading this planning to book a train home for Diwali, the honest answer is that the good berths went in the second week of September. What ...