M A I N   N E W S

Big bonanza for region
Tribune News Service

On track: 12 more trains Two high-speed trains earmarked for Chandigarh, Pathankot Bathinda gets a bi-weekly Shatabdi Express Weekly express between Kamakhya and Katra Two express trains connecting Kanpur, Indore with Jammu Tawi Express between Ferozepur and Chandigarh AC express between Nagpur and Amritsar (weekly) Saharsa-Amritsar Jansadharan Express Bikaner-Rewari Passenger (daily) Baramulla-Banihal (daily) Palwal-Delhi-Aligarh (daily) Rail connectivity to ‘Char Dham’ in Uttarakhand

New Delhi, July 8
As Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda unveiled the first Railway Budget of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government, there was much to cheer for the northern region with two out of the nine high-speed trains earmarked for Chandigarh and Pathankot, besides Bathinda getting a bi-weekly Shatabdi Express.

The Railways proposes to introduce 58 new trains, including five Jansadharan trains, five premium trains, six AC express trains, and 27 express trains. The minister announced a new train to the newly inaugurated Katra railway station, which serves as the base camp for the Vaishno Devi shrine, and two more trains to the Jammu Tawi railway station.

Gowda announced a weekly express train between Kamakhya and Katra via Darbhanga, while two more express trains would connect Kanpur with Jammu Tawi on a bi-weekly basis and Indore with Jammu Tawi on a weekly basis.

Another express train would connect Ferozepur with Chandigarh. It would run six days a week. An AC express train has also been introduced between Nagpur and Amritsar on a weekly basis.

The other trains announced for the region include the Saharasa-Amritsar Jansadharan Express, Bikaner-Rewari Passenger (daily), Baramulla-Banihal (daily) and Palwal-Delhi-Aligarh (daily). The Minister also announced 18 new line surveys which include rail connectivity to 'Char Dham' in Uttarakhand. The list of the new rains is as follows:

Jansadharan trains

Ahmedabad-Darbhanga Jansadharan Express via Surat; Jaynagar-Mumbai Jansadharan Express; Mumbai - Gorakhpur Jansadharan Express; Saharasa-Anand Vihar Jansadharan Express via Motihari and Saharasa-Amritsar Jansadharan Express.

Premium trains

Mumbai Central-New Delhi Premium AC Express; Shalimar-Chennai Premium AC Express; Secunderabad-Hazrat Nizamuddin Premium AC Express; Jaipur-Madurai Premium Express, Kamakhya-Bengaluru Premium Express.

AC Express trains

Vijayawada-New Delhi AP Express (daily); Lokmanya Tilak (T)-Lucknow (weekly); Nagpur-Pune (weekly); Nagpur-Amritsar (weekly); Naharlagun-New Delhi (weekly) and Nizamuddin-Pune (weekly).

Express trains

Ahmedabad-Patna Express (weekly) via Varanasi; Ahmedabad-Chennai Express (biweekly) via Vasai Road; Bengaluru -Mangalore Express (daily), Bengaluru-Shimoga Express (biweekly); Bandra (T)-Jaipur Express (weekly) via Nagda; Kota, Bidar-Mumbai Express (weekly), Chhapra-Lucknow Express (triweekly) via Ballia Ghazipur, Varanasi; Ferozepur-Chandigarh Express (6 days a week); Guwahati-Naharlagun Intercity Express (daily); Guwahati-Murkongselek Intercity Express (daily); Gorakhpur-Anand Vihar Express (weekly); Hapa-Bilaspur Express (weekly) via Nagpur; Hazur Saheb-Nanded-Bikaner Express (weekly); Indore-Jammu Tawi Express (weekly); Kamakhya-Katra Express (weekly) via Darbhanga; Kanpur-Jammu Tawi Express (biweekly); Lokmanya Tilak (T)-Azamgarh Express (weekly); Mumbai-Kazipeth Express (weekly) via Balharshah; Mumbai-Palitana Express (weekly); New Delhi-Bhatinda Shatabdi Express (biweekly); New Delhi-Varanasi Express (daily); Paradeep-Howrah Express (weekly); Paradeep-Visakhapatnam Express (weekly); Rajkot-Rewa Express (weekly); Ramnagar-Agra Express (weekly); Tatanagar Baiyyappanahali (Bengaluru) Express (weekly) and Visakhapatnam-Chennai Express (weekly).