The Railway Board has approved a new daily Sabarmati-Varanasi Express, creating a proposed rail link between Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh and offering more frequent travel options for passengers on the route, according to a report by Divya Bhaskar – Ahmedabad.
The railway authorities have instructed the relevant railway zones to begin the service as soon as possible. The report said the train will operate daily and use three Linke-Hofmann-Busch, or LHB, rakes. Primary maintenance work for the proposed service will be carried out at Varanasi.
According to the reported schedule, the train will leave Varanasi at 5.30 pm and reach Sabarmati at 8.15 pm the following day. In the reverse direction, it will depart Sabarmati at 5.20 am and reach Varanasi at 6.30 am the next day. The timings indicate a journey of more than a day in each direction.
The new service is expected to provide a daily alternative to the existing Ahmedabad-Varanasi Express, which the report said takes about 23 hours but currently operates only once a week. Increasing the frequency could give passengers more flexibility when planning travel between western India and eastern Uttar Pradesh.
The reported route includes stations in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and adjoining regions. The listed stops include Mahesana, Palanpur, Abu Road, Falna, Beawar, Ajmer, Kishangarh, Jaipur, Gandhinagar Jaipur, Bandikui, Mandawar Mahwa Road, Kherli, Nadbai, Bharatpur, Idgah Agra Junction, Tundla Junction, Govindpuri, Subedarganj and Mirzapur.
The report describes the service as having 13 stoppages, but it lists 19 station names along the proposed route. The final number of stops, station sequence and operational timetable will therefore need to be confirmed by the railway authorities before the service begins.
The proposed operation would connect major passenger nodes including Varanasi, Mirzapur, Agra, Jaipur, Ajmer, Abu Road, Palanpur, Mahesana and Sabarmati. For the cities and towns along the route, the service would add a daily inter-state rail connection rather than a once-weekly option.
The Railway Board’s direction to the concerned railway zones is the next operational step identified in the report. A formal launch date, confirmed timetable, final stoppages and ticketing details have not been specified in the supplied material.
