Bhubaneswar: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw Monday said the Railways will operate more than 300 special trains for devotees travelling to Puri during the Rath Yatra, while 100 special trains will also be run for passengers during Kerala’s Onam festival.
Speaking after flagging off the Nanded-Mumbai and Tanakpur-Nanded Express trains and inaugurating the extension of the Tanakpur-Pilibhit train service to Shahjahanpur via video conference from Bhubaneswar, Vaishnaw said the additional train services were aimed at meeting the surge in passenger demand during major festivals.
The minister, who is in Odisha to review the Railways’ preparations for the upcoming Rath Yatra and to flag off two Odisha-origin trains later in the day, launched the new services from Rail Sadan.
Vaishnaw said the newly launched train services would improve rail connectivity, particularly for the Sikh community in the Terai region of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
“There was a consistent demand from our Sikh brothers and sisters living in the Terai region. A train service connecting Nanded via Washim and Hingoli to Mumbai has also been started today, which will improve connectivity for several districts in Vidarbha and Marathwada with Mumbai. Some train services connecting Pilibhit, Agra and Tanakpur have also been launched,” he said.
He said the Railways would examine the demand for stoppages at Khatima and Banbasa.
Vaishnaw also announced that the Tanakpur-Pilibhit train service had been extended to Shahjahanpur, while the Tanakpur-Agra service, which earlier operated as a special train, has now been regularised.
Highlighting the Railways’ achievements over the past 12 years, the minister said about 37,000 km of new tracks had been laid and electrification had reached 99.6 per cent.
He added that railway infrastructure in Odisha was undergoing a major transformation, with projects worth more than Rs 90,000 crore under implementation in the state.