Bhubaneswar, March 12 Indian Railways has approved the regularisation of the Bhubaneswar-Dhanbad and Puri-Patna special trains.
Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has informed Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi about the development.
"Please refer to our discussion regarding regularising special trains for public convenience. You would be pleased to know that the regularisation of these two special trains has been approved," Vaishnaw said in a letter to the chief minister.
The Bhubaneswar-Dhanbad Special (02832/02831) will now run as Bhubaneswar-Dhanbad Express (18403/18404), and the Puri-Patna Special (08439/08440) will now run as Puri-Patna Express (18405/18406).
The daily Bhubaneswar-Dhanbad Express will depart from Bhubaneswar at 8:25 pm and arrive in Dhanbad at 11 am the next day. Its return journey will commence at 4 pm, and the train will arrive in the Odisha capital at 7:45 am the next day.
The Bhubaneswar-Dhanbad Express will stop at Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Talcher Road, Angul, Rairakhol, Sambalpur city, Jharsuguda, and Rourkela in Odisha.
The weekly Puri-Patna Express will depart from the coastal pilgrim town at 2:55 pm on Saturdays and arrive in Patna at 10:45 am the next day. On its return journey, the train will depart from Patna at 1:30 pm on Sundays and arrive in Puri at 9:45 am the next day.
It will stop at Khurda Road, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Jajpur, Keonjhar Road, Bhadrak, and Balasore in Odisha.
Majhi thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the railway minister for approving the regularisation of the trains.
"This important decision will strengthen railway connectivity in Odisha, enhancing passenger convenience while boosting mobility, tourism, and regional development across the state," the CM said in an X post.