Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi have flagged off the new tri-weekly Puri-Koraput Express, establishing a direct rail link between coastal and tribal Odisha. The event also marked the upgrade of the Berhampur-Udhna Amrit Bharat Express to a daily service.
PURI, India — Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi jointly flagged off the inaugural run of the Puri-Koraput Express on Monday, July 6, 2026. The ceremony, held at the Puri Railway Station, marks the introduction of a critical transit corridor designed to bridge eastern, western, and southern Odisha.
The new train service addresses a long-standing public demand for direct rail infrastructure connecting "Shree Khetra" Puri with "Sabara Srikhetra" Koraput two highly significant centers of Jagannath culture. The rollout is timed precisely ahead of the annual Rath Yatra festival, providing direct connectivity for hundreds of thousands of devotees, regional traders, students, and patients.
Route Distribution and Technical Logistics
Operated by the East Coast Railway (ECoR) zone, the regular service of the Puri-Koraput Express (Train Nos. 18407/18408) will run on a tri-weekly schedule. The route covers a vast geographic swath of the state, ensuring that major non-metropolitan hubs gain direct transit accessibility.
The train is scheduled to pass through 19 key intermediate stations, establishing a comprehensive socio-economic corridor:
Key Urban Connectors: Khurda Road, Bhubaneswar, and Sambalpur.
Industrial and Tribal Belts: Angul, Bargarh Road, Balangir, Titlagarh, Kesinga, Muniguda, Rayagada, and Damanjodi.
During its regular operations, Train No. 18407 will depart from Puri at 7:00 AM, concluding its cross-state journey at Koraput at 11:30 PM on the same day. Conversely, the return leg (Train No. 18408) will depart from Koraput at 5:00 AM and arrive back in Puri at 10:20 PM.
Infrastructure Scaling and the Amrit Bharat Upgrades
The flag-off ceremony served as a double-barreled boost to Odisha’s rail infrastructure, as the dignitaries subsequently traveled to Berhampur (Brahmapur) Station. There, they inaugurated the conversion of the Berhampur-Udhna (Surat) Amrit Bharat Express from a tri-weekly line into a permanent daily service. This expansion directly serves the massive migrant worker population from the Ganjam district employed in Gujarat's textile and diamond industries.
During the event, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw officially sanctioned a ₹300 crore structural redevelopment budget for the Berhampur Railway Station under the national Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, with initial physical engineering work already active on site. Responding to an immediate request from Chief Minister Majhi, Vaishnaw also formally announced that the Ministry of Railways will introduce a similar dedicated express train service for North Odisha in the coming months.
Festival Management and Safety Preparedness
The launch event also included a high-level review of the special administrative mechanisms deployed for Rath Yatra 2026. Given the millions of pilgrims expected to descend on Puri, the central and state governments have harmonized their logistics operations.
To prevent systemic congestion, the Railway Minister verified that the Indian Railways will operate more than 300 special trains dedicated exclusively to festival traffic. The revamped Puri station architecture includes a specialized holding area capable of sheltering over 30,000 devotees simultaneously, fully integrated with emergency healthcare desks, expanded ticket-vending counters, and automated crowd-management surveillance feeds.
Official Sources Section
The operational schedules, station allocations, financial redevelopments, and fleet expansions detailed in this coverage correspond strictly to official press releases issued by the East Coast Railway (ECoR) zone, regulatory compliance sheets from the Railway Board, and public project briefings managed by the Ministry of Railways.
Quote Section
"The introduction of the Puri-Koraput Express fulfills a long-standing aspiration of the people by providing direct rail connectivity between the holy city of Puri and the tribal heartland of Koraput," stated East Coast Railway officials in a formal press brief. "The service bridges the state's hilly, resource-rich areas with the coastal commercial belt, improving accessibility to health, education, and markets."
Why It Matters
For citizens, traders, and small businesses in southern and western Odisha, the new train line cuts travel costs and provides a direct logistical path to premium coastal markets. It opens immediate commercial channels for regional products, such as Koraput’s expanding organic coffee industry. For travelers and pilgrims, the simultaneous upgrade of the Amrit Bharat line to a daily schedule eliminates complex multi-train transfers, protecting long-distance commuters from high seasonal ticket costs and securing safer transit across five Indian states.
Key Facts at a Glance
Direct Alignment: Connects the spiritual centers of Puri and Koraput via a 19-station tri-weekly corridor.
Daily Upgrade: The Berhampur-Udhna Amrit Bharat Express has been scaled up to a daily operation.
Station Capital: A ₹300 crore redevelopment fund was cleared to modernize Berhampur Station.
Festival Grid: Over 300 special trains are deployed to manage transit for Rath Yatra 2026.
Future Planning: The Ministry of Railways formally approved a future dedicated express train line for North Odisha.
Frequently Asked Questions
On which specific days does the Puri-Koraput Express operate?
The train departs from Puri every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. The return journey from Koraput operates on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.
How will the Berhampur Station redevelopment impact daily commuters?
The ₹300 crore project will upgrade passenger lounges, expand platform capacities, improve multi-modal access links, and add modern food courts to handle growing passenger volumes efficiently.
Are there special ticketing provisions for the upcoming Rath Yatra festival?
Yes. Indian Railways is setting up additional temporary ticket counters and digital booking kiosks at Puri and surrounding stations, alongside running 300 special festival trains to handle the surge in passengers.
Source: Official operational logs and media briefs published by the East Coast Railway Zone, national project circulars from the Ministry of Railways, and joint administrative releases from the Government of Odisha.
