36 trains to and from Ayodhya cancelled, diverted ahead of Ram Mandir ceremony

Several trains to and from Ayodhya, including the Vande Bharat Express which carries passengers from Delhi to the temple town, have been cancelled or diverted due to heavy track doubling and infrastructure work on the Lucknow-Barabanki-Ayodhya Cantt-Shahganj-Zafarabad section.

The movement of 36 trains will remain affected till January 22 due to the doubling of tracks on the section. This comes as lakhs of people are estimated to travel to Ayodhya for the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of the Ram Mandir on January 22.

The doubling of tracks is part of Indian Railways’ broader initiative focused on improving the convenience and speed of train journeys towards Ayodhya. The work was expected to be done by January 20, but sources said it seems



unlikely that the project will be done by the scheduled date.

The tracks currently have the capacity to undertake the movement of 40 trains. After the doubling work is completed, the movement could be increased to 80 trains on the same section.

Sources said, the train diversions and cancellations were only until January 15, which has now been extended to January 22.

The section which is being repaired is a 161 kilometre rail line that was pegged to be doubled at an estimated cost of Rs 1,200 crore. The revised sanctioned cost was pegged at Rs 1,790 crore, of which Rs 1,576 crore has been spent by December 2023. Further, Rs. 466 crore has been spent during the financial year 2023-24 on the Lucknow division going towards Ayodhya.