Bhubaneswar: Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Union Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha flagged off the inaugural run of the Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express via Sambalpur city, Jharsuguda and Rourkela through video conferencing from the office of the Railway Board in New Delhi in the morning on Saturday.
“This is just a beginning. I thank the Union Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha for his effort which will benefit the people of Western Odisha. The Union Minister has said considering the response and appreciation of the people, the frequency of this train would be increased,” Pradhan said.
Stating that in Odisha, the express train will have stoppages at Angul, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda and Rourkela, he said he has requested the Union Minister to make provisions for the stoppage of the train at Dhenkanal.
In Odisha, State Tourism and Culture Minister Ashok Panda, State Commerce and Transport minister Nrusingha Charan Sahu, Bhubaneswar MP Prasanna Patsani and MLAs Bijay Kumar Mohanty and Priyadarshi Mishra were present at the Bhubaneswar Railway Station on the occasion.
“With the introduction of this train, the long-standing demand of Odisha has been fulfilled. The Chief Minister had urged the Railway Minister to run this train via Sambalpur,” Sahu said.
MP Prasanna Patsani said the introduction of the train will further strengthen socio-economic and cultural ties between the people of eastern and western Odisha.
The train will leave Bhubaneswar on every Saturday at 7.10 AM and head for New Delhi via Sambalpur City and Jharsuguda with stoppages at Cuttack, Angul, Sambalpur City, Jharsuguda, Rourkela, Chakradharpur, Anara, Gomoh, Koderma, Gaya, Mughalsarai and Kanpur Central from both the direction.
