Railways to run 200 special trains for Rath Yatra on July 18

The railways will run 200 special trains for the Nabakalebara Rath Yatra on July 18.

Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan informed this after his meeting with Union minister of state for railways Manoj Sinha in New Delhi on Saturday.

“During annual Rath Yatra, the railways runs 80-90 trains. There will be more trains as the state expects footfall of 50 lakh. The railway authorities have also decided to run additional trains during Bahuda Yatra and Suna Besha,” Dharmendra told the media.

The railways is also planning to create adequate amenities for comforts of the passengers in stations close to Puri. Keeping in view the grand religious festival, East Coast Railway (ECoR) has proposed to construct a big ‘Yatri Mela’ shed in Puri. Construction of two additional platforms is underway at Bhubaneswar station.

The doubling of Khurda Road-Delang-Puri railway line has also been completed and trail run on the route will be done by the month-end, the sources said.