55 express, 8 passenger trains via Chhattisgarh to run on revised timings from January 1

RAIPUR: Several long-distance and regional trains originating from or passing through Chhattisgarh, including services connecting Raipur, Bilaspur, Durg, Korba and Ambikapur with major cities across the country, will operate under revised timings from January 1, 2026, following partial changes in the Indian Railways timetable.

As part of its annual exercise, Indian Railways has introduced marginal adjustments in the timetable to improve operational efficiency and reduce overall travel time by enhancing average speeds between origin and destination stations. Officials said the changes stem from continuous infrastructure upgrades across multiple railway sections.

In the South East Central Railway (SECR) zone, which serves most of Chhattisgarh, the new timetable will affect the running of 55 express trains and eight passenger trains in both up and down directions. Timings at other stations will remain unchanged.

Among the prominent trains passing through or originating in Chhattisgarh whose schedules have been revised are the Lokmanya Tilak–Puri Express, Pune–Howrah Azad Hind Express, Bilaspur–New Delhi Express, Visakhapatnam–Hazrat Nizamuddin Express, Raipur–Jabalpur Express, Yeshwantpur–Korba Express, Korba–Amritsar Chhattisgarh Express, Durg–Chhapra Express, Pune–Bilaspur Express, and Nagpur–Bilaspur Express. Several of these trains halt at key Chhattisgarh stations such as Raipur, Durg, Bilaspur, Rajnandgaon, Dongargarh and Champa, with minor changes in arrival and departure timings.

Railway authorities stated that due to these adjustments, mail and express trains will save between 10 and 25 minutes, while passenger trains will save 5 to 20 minutes in end-to-end journey time.

Additionally, eight passenger and MEMU services, including Ambikapur–Shahdol MEMU, Gondia–Jabalpur Passenger, and Nainpur–Chhindwara Passenger, will run with revised departure times.

Officials further said that apart from the listed trains, 11 express and 17 passenger trains under SECR have also benefited from speed optimisation, resulting in a cumulative saving of around 340 minutes in operational time.

Passengers travelling to or from Chhattisgarh have been advised to check the updated timetable before planning their journeys from January 1, 2026, to avoid inconvenience.