Bhubaneswar: Union Minister of Education, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw will flag off the extension of Banaras-Sambalpur-Banaras bi-weekly Express upto Visakhapatnam from Sambalpur station on November 20.
On the inaugural Day, the train will be flagged off from Sambalpur to Visakhapatnam as a Special Train. However, the regular service of the train in the extended portion will start from Nov 22 from Visakhapatnam and from November 23 from Banaras.
The train has been extended without disturbing the scheduled timings and stoppages between Sambalpur and Banaras, according to a release of East Coast Railways (ECoR).
The extension of this train will be beneficial for the people of western and southern Odisha who travel to Visakhapatnam for various other reasons like business, education and medical treatment.
Besides the two Union Ministers, MP Nitesh Gangadev and MLA Jayanarayan Mishra will be present at Sambalpur station for flagging off the train. MP Suresh Pujari will attend through video-conferencing from Bargarh station, MPs Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo and Niranjan Bishi from Balangir station and MPs Basanta Kumar Panda and Sujeet Kumar from Kesinga.
