Ranchi-Puri Vande Bharat likely by April

Ranchi: Pilgrims and tourists from Ranchi, who travel to Puri each year, could soon enjoy a comfortable journey to the beach town in Odisha as the Indian Railways plans to operate a Vande Bharat train on the route in the coming months. If all goes according to plan, the South Eastern Railways (SER) will introduce the train between Ranchi and Puri by April this year. A proposal in this regard has been sent by the Railway Board of the SER zone, officials in the know of things said.
Ranchi divisional railway manager Jasmeet Singh Bindra, however, said: "Proposals such as these are put up before the Railway Board by the zone. We at the division do not have any information about it yet."
At present, only one train operates directly between Ranchi and Puri (Tapaswini Express). Thousands of Ranchiites visit Puri every year to holiday or offer prayers at the Jagannath Temple.
There are Vande Bharat trains operating from Ranchi to Howrah, Patna and Varanasi.
In 2024, Ranchi MP Sanjay Seth had announced that a Vande Bharat train would soon operate between Ranchi and Puri. While Seth did not respond to TOI's calls, one of his aides said: "He is monitoring the issue with railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and the train would be approved soon." tnn