Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 8 (ANI): Western Railway is running special trains between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, as well as from Pune to Ahmedabad, to facilitate travel for cricket fans, in view of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 final, set to be played between India and New Zealand on Sunday at Ahemedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium.

India played their semifinal against England on Thursday at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, where they defeated the Three Lions by seven runs to book their spot in the final of the 2026 T20 World Cup. With India reaching the finals, travel demand has surged as cricket fans from across the country are heading to Ahmedabad.

Speaking to ANI, Vineet Abhishek, Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway, said that additional trains have been arranged between Mumbai, Pune, and Ahmedabad to meet the increased demand from cricket fans. The services are scheduled to help fans travel to Ahmedabad in time for the T20 World Cup 2026 final match and return afterwards according to the planned timetable.

'Keeping in mind the extra demand from our cricket fans, Western Railway has notified some trains from Mumbai Central to Ahmedabad, from Banda Terminus to Ahmedabad, and is also running trains between Ahmedabad and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, as well as between Ahmedabad and Pune. These trains have been scheduled so that our cricket fans can depart from the Mumbai area in time to reach Ahmedabad, enjoy the match, and return afterwards, as per the planned schedule,' said Vineet Abhishek.

An Indian cricket team, Sushil Sharma, travelling to Ahmedabad from Mumbai, thanked the government for the initiative of running the special trains for fans.

'India is the best team and the batting line-up of the team is very deep. India will surely win the World Cup. I thank the government for taking such a good step by running special trains,' he said.

Another fan, Manish Bhatt, said, 'By winning the match tomorrow, we will prove that Narendra Modi stadium is not unlucky for team India, it is a tough match, but team India will surely win the match. We thank the government for running special trains.' (ANI)