Gohain flagged off Dibrugarh-Guwahati Shatabdi Express
Dibrugarh
Minister of State for Railways, Rajen Gohain flagged off a new Shatabdi Express between Dibrugarh and Guwahati at a ceremonial function held at Dibrugarh Railway station on Sunday morning.
Flagging off the inaugural train, Mr Rajen Gohain said, a there was a long-standing demand for better rail connectivity with Guwahati from Dibrugarh and the Dibrugarh -Guwahati Shatabdi Express would fulfil that demand of the people. The Shatabdi Express trains are among the fastest and most prestigious trains of Indian Railways along with Rajdhani and Duronto trains which connect metro cities with other important cities from the point of view of tourism, pilgrimage or business, he said. He said, the train would have latest fully air-conditioned LHB Coaches to provide safety and extra comfort. Travellers would be provided with bottled water, juice, coffee or tea, and meals relevant to time of day of the journey.
Gohain called upon the people of the region, specially the rail users, to take care of the railway property and consider these to be their own. He appealed to the people not to damage the interior or exterior of a beautiful train like Shatabdi and keep it clean. Saying that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi had had placed special emphasis on the development of the Northeastern region, Mr Gohain assured that Railways would continue to work for the development in the region.
Speaking on the occasion, Rameswar Teli, MP thanked the Railway Ministry for providing more and more efficient services for the region and expressed hope that in the coming days Railways would play its role for bringing in more development for the state.
Earlier welcoming the guests at the function, the General Manager of N. F. Railway, Chahatey Ram informed that the Dibrugarh – Guwahati Shatabdi Express train would operate three-days-a-week from Dibrugarh and Guwahati. From Dibrugarh the train will leave on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. And from Guwahati, the train will leave on every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. He said, it was the first such train in Assam and the only second such train in entire N. F. Railway. The new Shatabdi Express train will provide faster, comfortable and efficient connectivity with the capital city of Guwahati as the total journey time for the distance of 506 km will be only 9 hours.
The train will have 10 AC Chair Car coaches and 2 luggage-cum-generator Cars. The train will have seven intermediate stoppages. The total fare, which includes charges for food, for one adult passenger from Guwahati to Dibrugarh will be Rs. 1095 and between Dibrugarh and Guwahati will be Rs. 1010.
