Bhubaneswar: The Railway Ministry has approved a new tri-weekly express train service between Puri and Koraput in a major push to rail connectivity in Odisha, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said Thursday.
The 18407/18408 Puri-Koraput Express will provide direct rail connectivity between Puri and parts of western and southern Odisha for the first time, the minister said.
The new service is expected to improve travel related to pilgrimage, tourism, education, health care, employment and business activities in the state and railway projects worth nearly Rs 90,000 crore are currently under implementation in Odisha, Vaishnaw added.
Major ongoing projects include the Junagarh-Nabarangpur, Nabarangpur-Jeypore, Jeypore-Malkangiri, Bargarh-Nuapada, Gunupur- Therubali, Khurda Road-Bolangir and Bimalagarh-Talcher railway lines.
The long-pending Khurda Road-Bolangir railway line project is progressing rapidly and is targeted for completion by 2027. Work on the four-laning of the Howrah-Chennai main railway corridor passing through Odisha is also underway, the minister added.
According to the minister, Odisha will gain the capacity to operate nearly 500 additional trains in the future after the completion of new railway lines and major capacity expansion works.
Under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, redevelopment work is being carried out at 59 railway stations across Odisha, including Bhubaneswar, Puri, Sambalpur, Berhampur, Talcher and Baripada stations.
Vaishnaw also said a new detailed project report is being prepared for the proposed Puri-Konark rail connectivity project.