Hirakhand Express with modern LHB coaches flagged off

New Delhi: Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan flagged off the new modern LHB Rake of Bhubaneswar-Jagadalpur-Bhubaneswar Hirakhand Express through video conferencing from Rail Bhawan on Friday.

Speaking on the occasion, Vaishnaw said that the PM has been stressing upon the need for bringing about reforms in railways.

“The vision is to make a wholesome transformation and not just incremental changes. Our Government is pursuing these projects on an express mode. Every year about Rs 6000 crore to Rs 7000 crore is being sanctioned in the budget for development of rail infrastructure in Odisha. This Union Government is committed to provide better connectivity and amenities to our esteemed passengers,” said the Railway Minister.

During his recent visit to Odisha, Vaishnaw had travelled with the passengers in Hirakhand Express and taken their feedback about the rail services.

Introducing new modern LHB rakes in Hirakhand Express will provide better and more pleasant journey experience to train passengers, added Vaishnaw.

Apart from this, Hirakhand Express covers its journey of 784 kms from Bhubaneswar to Jagdalpur having stoppages at 21 intermediate stations in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh under ECoR’s jurisdiction.

On-board passengers of this train can now enjoy the scenic beauty of valley, tunnels, fauna and flora of this train route with the comfort ride of the new modern LHB coach having bigger windows and aesthetic modular interiors.

Vaishnaw said that LHB Coach in Hirakhand Express will provide better comfort and jerk free journey to the passengers, Railways have decided to run Bhubaneswar-Jagadalpur-Bhubaneswar Hirakhand Express with modern Linke-Hofmann-Busch (LHB) coaches by replacing conventional coaches running at present.

LHB coaches are anti-telescopic, safer, lighter, and more comfortable and jerk free. Replacement of ICF conventional coaches phase wise with LHB coaches is being done from safety point of view.

Hirakhand Express will now run with a load combination of 12 coaches as earlier, i.e. 01 AC 2 Tier, 02 AC-3 Tier, 04 Sleeper Class, Three Second Class Seating and 02 Guard cum Luggage & Divyangjan Coaches.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan joining in the function informed that special attention is being given by Union Government to this region in the field of developmental of Railway infrastructure and projects.