Banaras-Sambalpur Express extended up to Visakhapatnam
Bhubaneswar: Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Education, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India and Ashwini Vaishnav, Minister of Railways, Communications, Electronics and Information Technology, flagged off the extension of Banaras-Sambalpur-Banaras Bi-Weekly Express to Visakhapatnam. Sambalpur Railway Station, today.
Other dignitaries present on the occasion in Sambalpur are MP Shri Nitesh Gangadev and MLA Shri Nauri Nayak. Besides, MPs Suresh Pujari, Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo and Niranjan Bishi and Basant Kumar Panda graced the occasion through video conferencing at Bargarh Road, Balangir and Kesinga stations respectively.
Today, on the inaugural occasion, the train will run as a special train from Sambalpur to Visakhapatnam. However, regular service in the extended portion of this train will start from Visakhapatnam from 22 November 2023. 23 November 2023 from Banaras. Without disrupting the scheduled timings and stoppages of this train between Sambalpur and Banaras, this train has been extended up to Visakhapatnam.
The extension of this train to Visakhapatnam is a game-changer for the people of Southern and Western Odisha. The extension of this train from Sambalpur to Visakhapatnam will serve as a lifeline for the residents of Western and Southern Odisha traveling for business, education and various other reasons like medical treatment. Additionally, this will boost tourism and cultural exchange by providing direct connectivity between Banaras and Visakhapatnam.
The extended train, now named 18311 Visakhapatnam-Banaras Express, will depart Visakhapatnam at 0410 hrs every Wednesday and Sunday. The return journey, 18312 Banaras-Visakhapatnam Express, will leave Banaras at 1500 hrs every Thursday and Monday.
The train will have stoppages at important stations including Bargarh Road, Balangir, Titilagarh, Kesinga, Muniguda, Rayagada, Parvatipuram, Bobbili, Vizianagaram and Kottavalasa.
With this extension the travel distance between Sambalpur and Banaras has increased from 895 km to 1400 km, reducing the travel time to approximately 28 hours 30 minutes.
The train will now run with LHB coaches, which include one AC-2 tier, four AC-3 tier, eight sleeper class (nine temporarily), six second class seating, one guard cum luggage and Divyangjan coach and one power car.
Earlier, Additional General Manager, ECOR, Sharad Kumar Srivastava welcomed the guests and dignitaries and Divisional Railway Manager, Sambalpur Division, Vineet Singh was also present.
