The Railways has announced the introduction of an additional Vande Bharat train service for the people of North Andhra region, with the commissioning of a new train from Vizag to the pilgrim centre Puri starting from March 12. It was stated that the train would operate six days a week, excluding Saturdays. The Vizag-Secunderabad Vande Bharat superfast express, connecting the Telugu states Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, commenced its service on January 15 of the previous year and has been running with a commendable occupancy rate.

According to Saurab Prasad, the Railway Manager of Waltair Division, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to virtually flag off the train on Tuesday. The train, numbered 20841, will depart from Puri at 5.15 am and is expected to arrive in Vizag at 11.30 am, covering the distance in six hours. The train will make stopovers at Khurda Road, Brahmapur, Palasa, Srikakulam Road, and Vizianagaram.

In the return journey, the train will depart from Vizag at 3.40 pm and reach Vizianagaram at 4.30 pm, Srikakulam Road at 5.28 pm, Palasa at 6.20 pm, Brahmapur at 7 pm, and Khurda Road at 8.55 pm before reaching Puri at 9.55 pm.

The train journey covers a distance of 468 km from Vizag to Puri. Vande Bharat will consist of eight coaches, including one executive coach and seven chaircar coaches. The port city of Vizag already has two trains, namely Garib Rath (22883) and Puri-Tirupati Express (17479), in addition to other trains arriving from various cities.