CHENNAI: Nearly 18 months after its introduction, the railways regularised the weekly Antyodaya Express, a fully unreserved train between Chennai Central and Santragachi, a neighbourhood of Howrah, on Monday.
The first regular weekly Antyodaya service between Santragachi and Chennai Central was flagged off by Railway Minister of State Rajen Gohain in Kolkota. Though the special train was introduced in June 2016, it was not operated regularly.
According to a statement, the weekly train will leave Santragachi on Mondays at 7 pm, and reach Central on Tuesdays at 22.45 pm. On the return journey, it will leave Central on Wednesdays at 8.10 am and reach Santragachi on Thursdays at 10.25 am.
The train will stop at Kharagpur, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur Keonjhar Road, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Khurda Road, Balugaon, Chatrapur, Brahampur, Sompetta, Palasa, Srikakulam Road, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Duvvada, Ankapalle, Samalkot Junction, Rajahmundry, Eluru, Vijaywada, Chirala, Ongole, Nellore, Gudur and Sullurupetta.
The train comprises 18 LHB unreserved coaches and is fully vestibules. Every coach has additional features such as potable drinking water dispenser, mobile charging points, fire extinguisher, fibre reinforced plastic modular toilets, toilet occupation indication display board and LED lights.