Rath Yatra: 3 Trains Cancelled For COVID To Resume Operation To Puri

Puri: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday announced that services of 4 trains, which had been cancelled earlier, would resume soon.

During a visit to Puri railway station, Vaishnaw said keeping the transportation needs of the devotees during Rath Yatra in the Pilgrim Town on July 1, the Railways would resume operations of the 4 trains. These trains were cancelled due to COVID pandemic.

Of the four trains, three are connected to Puri town. Following are the trains that will resume services:

• 68414/68413 Puri-Talcher-Puri MEMU
• 68438/68437 Cuttack-Bhadrak-Cuttack MEMU
• 18414/18413 Puri-Paradeep-Puri Express
• 20857/20858 Puri-Sai Nagar Shirdi-Puri Express

The minister also inspected Puri railway station and reviewed the proposed developmental works for redeveloping it into a world-class railway station. The Centre targets to complete the project by 2024, he said adding that a special train of international standard will run between Puri and Bhubaneswar considering the demand of national and international tourists.

The new station will have all modern facilities including baggage security, information centre, check-in area, enquiry hub, and art gallery. It will also be differently-abled friendly and feature access ramps, lifts and tactile flooring.

On the arrangements for Rath Yatra, Vaishnaw said besides over 200 trains that will run to Puri during the festival, the Railways would open a free health camp to attend to the visitors in need of medical attention. Besides, it will distribute food among the needy and helpless people on the day, he added.