 "Agartala-Delhi Rajdhani Express: 4th Rajdhani in Northeast kicks-off today")
Tripura capital Agartala on Saturday was linked with the national capital New Delhi by the Rajdhani Express, becoming the fourth city in northeast India to get the Rajdhani train link.
Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain flagged-off the much-awaited Rajdhani Express between Agartala and Delhi's Anand Vihar station.
The regular service will start from November 6. The Tripura Rajdhani Express will run once a week on Mondays from Agartala, and on Wednesdays from Anand Vihar in New Delhi, Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR) Chief Public Relations Officer Pranav Jyoti Sharma said.
The Rajdhani from Agartala would reach Anand Vihar station in around 41 hours, covering a distance of 2,413 km and 16 stations in Tripura, Assam, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, he said.
Agartala is the fourth city in northeast India after Assam's Guwahati and Dibrugarh, and Arunachal Pradesh capital city Itanagar to be connected by Rajdhani Express.
The CPRO said that passengers on the Rajdhani Express would be offered all amenities including meals and linen during the journey.
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Earlier this month, the Rajdhani Express with some empty coaches successfully conducted trial runs between Agartala and Lumding in southern Assam.
Tripura Governor Tathagata Roy along with PWD and Revenue Minister Badal Choudhury and Transport Minister Manik Dey, three CPI-M MPs and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Dilip Sarkar besides senior officials of NFR were present at the inaugural function held at Agartala railway station, 5 km north of Agartala city.
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 since independence. Subsequently, the metre gauge line was converted into broad gauge.
The railway authorities since last year are operating passenger train service — Kanchanjunga Express — between Agartala and Sealdah (Kolkata) via Silchar and Guwahati in Assam twice a week, and the weekly Tripura Sundari Express between Agartala and Anand Vihar station of Delhi.
The NFR is now extending the railway lines up to southern Tripura's bordering town Sabroom, 135 km south of Agartala.