New Delhi, Aug. 14: Indian Railways is set to expand the Amrit Bharat Express network with seven new services after approval from the Railway Board, strengthening affordable long-distance connectivity across several regions of the country.

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Designed primarily to provide economical and comfortable travel for lower- and lower-middle-income passengers, the new services will link major cities and regional centres across northern, central, western and southern India.

While none of the newly approved routes is directly centred on Odisha, the state already has several Amrit Bharat services connecting its major railway stations with destinations across the country.

Seven New Amrit Bharat Services

The newly approved services include:

Dhanbad–Coimbatore Amrit Bharat Express (22363/22364): The route will pass through major cities including Gaya, Prayagraj, Jabalpur, Nagpur, Vijayawada, Tirupati, Salem, Erode and Tiruppur.

Prayagraj–Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (20436/20435): A weekly service with proposed stops at Satna, Jabalpur, Itarsi, Bhusaval and Kalyan.

Prayagraj–Udhna (20437/20438): The weekly service will connect Prayagraj with Udhna via Fatehpur, Govindpuri, Etawah, Agra, Kota, Ratlam and Vadodara.

Subedarganj–Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (14121/14122): The proposed weekly train will serve destinations including Banda, Satna, Katni, Jabalpur, Itarsi, Khandwa, Bhusaval, Nashik Road, Kalyan and Thane.

Gorakhpur–Delhi (15095/15096): The service will connect Gorakhpur with Delhi through Gonda, Sitapur, Bareilly, Moradabad and Ghaziabad, among other stations.

Gorakhpur–Bandra Terminus (15085/15086): The route will pass through Kanpur Central, Agra Fort, Kota, Ratlam, Vadodara, Surat, Valsad, Vapi, Palghar and Borivali.

Charlapalli–Gorakhpur (22075/22076): The proposed service will connect Telangana with Uttar Pradesh through Kazipet, Peddapalli, Manchiryal, Balharshah, Nagpur, Bhopal, Bina, Jhansi, Kanpur Central, Lucknow and Gonda.

Amrit Bharat Trains Already Connecting Odisha

Odisha already benefits from several Amrit Bharat services that provide direct or convenient links to important destinations outside the state.

The Brahmapur–Udhna (Surat) Amrit Bharat Express connects southern Odisha with Gujarat, providing an important link between the two regions.

The Podanur–Dhanbad Amrit Bharat Express connects Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand while serving several key stations across western and southern Odisha. Its Odisha stops include Rayagada, Muniguda, Kesinga, Titlagarh, Balangir, Bargarh Road, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda and Rourkela.

Another important service is the Kamakhya–Charlapalli Amrit Bharat Express, which links the Northeast with Telangana through Odisha’s major coastal railway corridor. Key Odisha stops include Berhampur, Balugaon, Khurda Road, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Jajpur-Keonjhar Road, Bhadrak and Balasore.

Several other interstate services also pass through Odisha, strengthening connectivity between the state and destinations in eastern, southern and central India.

Focus on Affordable Long-Distance Travel

The expansion of the Amrit Bharat network is expected to provide passengers with more affordable options for long-distance travel while improving rail connectivity between major economic and regional centres.

For Odisha, the existing services remain particularly important as they connect passengers from different parts of the state to Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Telangana and the Northeast.

With seven more services now approved, Indian Railways is expected to further expand the network and improve access to economical long-distance train travel across the country.