Bhubaneswar: Indian Railways has approved regularisation of two more special trains – Bhubaneswar-Dhanbad and Puri-Patna special trains – for Odisha.
“Kindly refer to our discussion regarding regularisation of special trains for public convenience. You would be pleased to know that regularisation of the two special trains have been approved,” Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently wrote to Chief Minister Mohan Majhi, informing about the development.
Bhubaneswar-Dhanbad Special (02832/02831) will now run as Bhubaneswar-Dhanbad Express (18403/18404) and Puri-Patna Special (08439/08440) will now run as Puri-Patna Express (18405/18406).
The weekly Puri-Patna Express will depart from the Pilgrim Town at 2.55 pm on Saturday and reach Bihar capital at 11.15 am the following day. In its return journey, the train will start from Patna at 1.20 pm on Sunday and reach Puri at 9.45 am on Monday. It would halt at Khurda Road, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Jajpur, Keonjhar Road, Bhadrak and Balasore in Odisha.
The daily Bhubaneswar-Dhanbad Express will start from Odisha capital at 8.25 pm and reach Dhanbad at 11 am the following day. Its return journey will commence at 4 pm and the train would arrive in Bhubaneswar at 7.45 am the following day. It will have stoppages at Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Talcher Road, Angul, Rairakhol, Sambalpur City, Jharsuguda and Rourkela in Odisha.
Majhi thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vaishnaw for approving the regularisation of the trains. “This important decision will strengthen railway connectivity in Odisha, enhancing passenger convenience while boosting mobility, tourism and regional development across the state,” he posted on X.
Recently, Shalimar–Bhanjpur Special and Bhanjpur–Puri Special were converted into regular trains.
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