BHUBANESWAR: Odisha has been included in the first phase roll out of Amrit Bharat Express. One of the first two such trains to be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday will pass through the state. Once launched, the Malda Town-Bengaluru Amrit Bharat Express will replace the Antyodaya Express and Jan Sadharan Express. The newly-designed train with innovative push-pull technology will have eight stoppages in Odisha.
Railway sources said, the train will leave Malda Town at 11 am after the flagging off ceremony on December 30 and reach Bengaluru at 8 pm on January 1. It will halt at Jaleswar, Balasore, Soro, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Khurda and Berhampur stations in the state.
“Elaborate arrangements have been made at the stations to welcome the new train. Local MPs and MLAs will welcome the train at Jaleswar, Balasore, Soro, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Khurda Road and Brahmapur in both South Eastern Railway (SER) and East Coast Railway (ECoR) jurisdictions,” said a railway spokesperson.
Amrit Bharat Express is a new category of superfast passenger train with non air-conditioned coaches. This train has locos at both ends for better acceleration. It provides improved facilities for rail passengers like attractively designed seats, better luggage rack, mobile charging point with suitable mobile holder, LED lights, CCTV, public information system, among others.
Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw had recently made the view of the train public highlighting its new and distinctive features and design. The train routes have been designed to enhance passengers’ safety and travel efficiency. Plans are afoot for producing around 30 trains of this model every month after improvements based on trial runs.
Sources said several other configurations ranging from general class to AC two tier will be added for extending an efficient transportation solution for long distance travel.
The regular service of the train will commence from January 7. The train will leave Malda Town on every Sunday at 8.50 am and arrive at Bengaluru at 3 am on Tuesdays. In return direction, it will depart from Bengaluru on every Tuesday at 1.50 pm and will reach at Malda at 11 am on Thursdays.