Bhubaneswar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off Puri-Sonepur-Puri Weekly Express during his visit to Odisha’s Sambalpur on February 3.
This train will be the first to Sonepur district. It will connect four western Odisha districts of Sonepur, Balangir, Bargarh and Sambalpur, benefitting students, farmers, pilgrims and traders of the region.
According to sources, regular service of the weekly train will commence from February 8. The Puri-Sonepur Express will run on Thursdays while Sonepur-Puri train service will be available on Fridays. The train will leave Puri at 7.25 pm on Thursdays and reach Sonepur at 5.30 am on Fridays. In the return direction, it will depart from Sonepur at 7.30 pm on Fridays and reach Puri at 6.55 am on Saturdays.
The train will have stoppages at Khurda Road, Bhubaneswar, Naraj Marthapur, Dhenkanal, Talcher, Angul, Boinda, Rairakhol, Sambalpur, Bargarh Road, Balangir, Bichhupali, Jhartarbha and Narsinghgarh between Puri and Sonepur.
PM Modi will also lay lay foundation stone for redevelopment of Sambalpur railway station, whose architecture is inspired from Sailashree Palace. The railway station will undergo a massive transformation under the Rs 348 crore project and will be equipped with several modern facilities, including 20 elevators and 21 escalators. Food court, retails, ATM, ‘one station one product’ stalls, play zone for kids, pharmacy and several other such facilities will be built at the station, the East Coast Railway sources said.
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The PM will also dedicate the Sambalpur- Talcher Doubling Railway Line (168 km) and Jhartarbha to Sonepur New Railway line (21.7 km), enhancing the rail network capacity in the region.
