Ashwini Vaishnaw Launches New Rail Services and Festival Trains

Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw launched several new rail services on July 6, 2026, to improve connectivity across Odisha and the Terai regions of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Working with Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Vaishnaw flagged off the Puri-Koraput Express, providing a critical daytime link between the coastal city of Puri and the tribal region of Koraput. Additionally, the Berhampur-Udhna Amrit Bharat Express was upgraded to a daily service to support business travelers and migrant workers moving between Odisha and Gujarat.

Other inaugurations included the Nanded-Mumbai and Tanakpur-Nanded Express trains, the latter addressing long-standing demands from the Sikh community. Vaishnaw also extended the Tanakpur-Pilibhit service to Shahjahanpur and regularized the Tanakpur-Agra service. To accommodate holiday travel, the ministry announced over 300 special trains for the Jagannath Rath Yatra in Puri and more than 100 for the Onam festival in Kerala.

Vaishnaw credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the modernization of the network, noting that 37,000 kilometers of new tracks have been laid and electrification has reached 99.6% over the last 12 years. In Odisha, the government has invested nearly Rs 97,000 crore of a promised Rs 1 lakh crore, including a Rs 184 crore redevelopment of the Puri railway station. Vaishnaw further committed to introducing a dedicated train service for North Odisha and examining requests for stoppages at Khatima and Banbasa.