Rail Budget: Indian Railways to add 65 new trains

Railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav has announced the introduction of 65 new trains, including 10 Garib Raths and two special trains, besides extending some routes and the increasing the frequency of a select few.

Presenting the 2008-09 Railway Budget in Parliament, Prasad said, "In 2008-09, 10 new garib raths and 53 new pairs of trains would be introduced, and 16 pairs will be extended while the frequency of 11 pairs will be increased."

He announced a special train from Anandpur Sahib (in Punjab) to Gurudwara Sachkhand Sahib in Nanded (Maharshtra) to handle the expected increase traffic on the route during the upcoming tercentenary celebrations of Shri Granth Sahib Gurta Gaddi.

Another special train would be introduced between Pune and Delhi for the Commonwealth Youth Games being held in Pune from 12th to 18th October this year.

An additional 300 services in the Mumbai suburban railway section will also be introduced.

The new tri-weekly Garib Raths to be introduced are-- Jaipur-Chandigarh via Rewari-Bhiwani, Secunderabad- Vishakha- patnam Express, Varanasi-Delhi, Bangalore-Kochuveli, Yesvantpur-Puducherry and Pune-Nagpur.

The three bi-weekly ones are - Delhi-Jaynagar, Jabalpur-Mumbai and Ranchi-Delhi. Besides, there is a weekly train from Jammu Tawi to Kathgodam.

While 53 pairs of new trains include Amrawati-Mumbai Express, Chennai-Tiruchendur Express, Hyderabad-Usmanabad Express, Bhubaneshwar-Mumbai Express, Amritsar-Saharsa Jan Sadharan Express, Ranchi-Chopan Express, Delhi-Pathankot Express, Indore-Udaipur Express and New Dibrugarh Town-Yesvantpur Express.