BHUBANESWAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off Odisha’s second Vande Bharat Express, which will ply between Puri and Rourkela, on September 24.South Eastern Railway (SER) sources said, the train will be flagged off by the prime minister virtually along with eight other Vande Bharat Express trains across the country. An event has been planned at Bhubaneswar railway station for the inaugural journey of the train. Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan will remain present along with senior railway officials.
The train that will run six days a week except on Saturdays will have halts at Khurda Road, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Angul, Kerejanga, Sambalpur and Jharsuguda between Puri and Rourkela. Trial run of the train has already been conducted twice after the entire stretch was upgraded for maximum permissible speed of 130 kmph. The distance between Puri and Rourkela will be covered in seven hours and thirty minutes. The train will depart from Puri at 5 am and reach Rourkela at 12:45 pm the same day.
In the return journey, the train will depart from Rourkela at 2:10 pm and reach Puri at 9.40 pm the same day.The train will not only reduce the passenger load, but also provide a faster mobility option. It will boost intra-state economic activity and connect the airports at Jharsuguda, Rourkela and Bhubaneswar. “The introduction of the train will greatly benefit the pilgrims, traders, students and tourists by reducing the travel time between Puri and Rourkela,” said a railway official.
After the Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat was flagged off by the PM in May, the state government had demanded the train on two more routes, including the Puri-Rourkela route. However, the train on the Bhubaneswar-Hyderabad route is yet to be announced.