Rajdhani Express to begin service from Tripura

Agartala/Guwahati:After Assam, the Rajdhani Express will begin its service from another northeastern state, Tripura, from Saturday, officials said here on Wednesday.

Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain will flag off the much expected Rajdhani Express train between Tripura capital Agartala and Delhi's Anand Vihar station.

"The Rajdhani Express with some empty coaches successfully conducted trial services in between Agartala and southern Assam's Lumding earlier this month," an official of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) said.

He said that the Railway Board is yet to notify the details, including fare and journey schedule of operating Rajdhani Express between New Delhi and Agartala.

"The Rajdhani Express from Agartala would reach Anand Vihar station in around 40 hours covering 16 stations in Tripura, Assam, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh," the official added.

Tripura Governor Tathagata Roy will be present in the inaugural function along with two state ministers - PWD and Revenue Minister Badal Choudhury and Transport Minister Manik Dey, three CPI-M MPs and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Dilip Das besides others.

Agartala would be the third city in northeast India after Assam's Guwahati and Dibrugarh to be connected by a Rajdhani Express. With the extension of the metre gauge track up to Agartala through southern Assam, Tripura became the first state capital in the northeast in October 2008 to be brought on India's rail map after the country's independence. Subsequently, the metre gauge was converted into broad gauge.

The NFR is now further extending the railway lines up to southern Tripura's bordering town Sabroom, 135 km south of Agartala.