CHANDIGARH: The pilgrimage train connecting Chandigarh with Mata Chintpurni and Jawalaji temples in Himachal Pradesh will now run daily from April 10, announced Northern Railways on Thursday.
The train number 09717/18 Jaipur to Daulatpur Chowk runs via Chandigarh, Sri Anandpur Sahib and Una, and it was earlier scheduled thrice a week. After closure due to the pandemic, the train resumed from November 24 last.
The train will depart from Jaipur on April 10 and while passing through Chandigarh, Sri Anandpur Sahib and Una reach Daulatpur Chowk, which is the nearest railway station to reach Mata Chintpurni and Jawalaji temples. Daulatpur Chowk is a town just 16 km from Mata Chintpurni and it takes 35 minutes to reach there.
After originating from Daulatpur Chowk, the train passes through Una, Nangal Dam, Anandpur Sahib, Ropar and Mohali and then reaches Chandigarh, where it has a stopover of 20 minutes. Thereafter, it continues its journey to Jaipur via Ambala, Rohtak, Rewari and Alwar. The train departs from Chandigarh at 6.30pm and reaches Jaipur the next morning at 6.34am.
This is the second train connecting Chandigarh with Una as the first one is Jan Shatabdi Express. “All these trains are running at 80% capacity, which will increase. The daily service was started on popular demand,” said Chandigarh station superintendent JP Singh.
Jan Shatabdi Express was being short terminated and short originated from Ambala and now it has been resumed up to its original destination, Una. Pashchim Express running between Bandra Terminus in Mumbai and Amritsar via Chandigarh has also resumed. The 02057 New Delhi-Una Himachal Express was short terminated at Ambala. Consequently, the 02058 Una Himachal-New Delhi Express was short originated from Ambala. But now it has been extended to Una via Chandigarh.