194 Special Trains For Rath Yatra

Bhubaneswar: East Coast Railway (ECoR) has decided to run 194 special trains during the Rath Yatra festival, which will begin on July 4.

The special trains to Puri will operate from places such as Bhubaneswar, Sambalpur, Rourkela, Keonjhar, Nayagarh, Khurda, Bhadrakh, Palasa, Paradip, Angul, Talcher and Junagarh.

Besides, special trains will also operate from Kolkata, Visakhapatnam and Shalimar, said an EcoR spokesperson.

The trains will start operating from the evening of July 3 and will run till the end of the Suna Besha festival, the spokesperson said.

Trains originating from Kolkata, Shalimar, Visakhapatnam, Junagadh, Sambalpur and Rourkela will have reserved accommodations.

According to DRM Khurda Road Division Shashi Kant Singh, 60 additional ticket counters will be opened under the division. Besides, 538 RPF and 550 GRP security personnel will also be deployed.

Following a meeting of Member Railway Board Rajesh Agarwal and top ECoR officials here last Saturday, ECoR had issued a statement which said that July 1 has been set as the target for completion of the beautification and upgradation work of the Puri railway station, which was battered by cyclone Fani.