Bhubaneswar: More than 300 special trains will be operated by the Railways for the world-famous Rath Yatra in Odisha’s Puri this time.
The announcement was made by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday during an event at Rail Sadan in Bhubaneswar.
The Minister said that around 15,000 special trains were operated during the summer season ending June 30, calling it a historic initiative.
Similarly, more than 300 special trains will be operated during the upcoming Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath and siblings in Puri, while over 100 special trains will run during the Onam festival in Keralam, he said.
The Minister flagged off the Nanded-Mumbai and Tanakpur-Nanded Express trains and inaugurated the extension of the Tanakpur-Pilibhit train service up to Shahjahanpur through video conference from Rail Sadan in Bhubaneswar.
Speaking on the occasion, he said the newly launched train services would improve rail connectivity and benefit passengers, particularly the Sikh community in the Terai region of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
“There was a long-standing demand for a train from Tanakpur to Nanded Sahib, Hazur Sahib. It will benefit the large Sikh community in the Terai regions of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Everyone wishes to stay connected to the ‘Panj Takht’, and this railway connectivity will fulfil that sentiment,” the Union Minister said.
On the achievements of the Railways over the past 12 years, Vaishnaw said around 37,000 kilometres of new railway tracks have been laid, while railway electrification has reached 99.6 per cent.
The Bullet Train project is also progressing rapidly and the service is expected to begin next year, he said, adding that the Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridors have been completed.
A new east-west freight corridor connecting Dankuni in West Bengal with Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh will also be developed, he said.
