Boudh gets rail connectivity as PM flags off trains
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Bhubaneswar: For the first time, Boudh district got train services after Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off two new trains and extended the services of three existing trains connecting Purunakatak and Boudh on Friday.
Modi flagged off the trains after inaugurating the Sonepur-Purunakatak section (73 km) of the Khurda Road-Balangir (301 km) new line project, connecting Boudh district. This railway section was constructed at a cost of Rs 1,376 crore. With this, Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of seven railway projects worth Rs 2,750 crore.
"Boudh district headquarters is now connected to the railway network for the first time after completion of this railway section.
Finally, our district will be on the railway map of India, fulfilling the decades-old dream of the local people," said Seshadev Jani, a resident of Boudh district.
He said people can now visit the Bhairavi temple at Purunakatak by train. "The Sonepur-Purunakatak rail section will strengthen the social and economic connectivity of this region. Now people from Boudh can visit Bhubaneswar, Khurda, and Cuttack via train," he added.
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The commissioning of the rail section helped the railways to run two new trains and extend the services of three existing trains up to Purunakatak via Boudh.
The PM flagged off the Boudh-Bhubaneswar New-Boudh Weekly Express (18313/18314) and Sambalpur-Boudh-Sambalpur Weekly Express (18311/18312) here. People attended the flag-off ceremony of the trains at Boudh and Purunakatak stations.
The Boudh-Bhubaneswar New-Boudh Weekly Express will leave from Boudh at 7 am every Monday and reach Bhubaneswar New at 6.15 pm via Balangir-Sambalpur-Angul-Naraj.
In the return direction, this train will leave from Bhubaneswar New at 11 pm on Mondays and reach Boudh at 10.30 am on Tuesdays.
Similarly, the Sambalpur-Boudh-Sambalpur Weekly Express from Sambalpur will leave at 7.25 pm on Sundays and arrive at Boudh at 11.55 pm on the same day. The return train from Boudh will leave at 12.15 pm on Tuesdays and reach Sambalpur at 5.30 pm on the same day.
Apart from this, the Bhubaneswar-Sonepur-Bhubaneswar Inter-City Express and two pairs of Balangir-Sonepur shuttle passenger trains will now originate from Purunakatak in Boudh district.
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