Humsafar Express soon from Pataliputra to Udaipur

PATNA: The Railway Board has approved the East Central Railway (ECR)’s proposal to run a new weekly airconditioned train between Pataliputra Junction and Udaipur City, named Humsafar Express (19669/19670).

Talking to this correspondent over the phone from New Delhi on Thursday, a Railway Board official said deputy director (coaching) Vivek Kumar Sinha through a letter on October 3 informed all the railway zones on the route, including ECR, about the approval. A date for its introduction will be decided by the zonal officials concerned in consultation with the Railway Board, he said.

According to sources, Humsafar Express is proposed to leave Udaipur City at 12.20pm every Wednesday and reach Pataliputra Junction at 9.15pm the next day. On its return journey, it will leave Pataliputra Junction at 12.10am after every Thursday-Friday midnight and reach Udaipur City at 8.20am on Saturday.

The train will have the load combination of 18 coaches, including two brake vans, the sources said.

The Railway Board has allowed stoppage of Humsafar Express at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction, Varanasi, Lucknow, Kanpur, Bharatpur, Mathura Junction and Kota. It will have facilities like GPS-based passenger information, tea and coffee machines, mobile charging points and reading light for every passenger.

The Union railway ministry had first proposed the introduction of Humsafar Express on different routes in the railway budget of 2016-17.