Puri: Odisha got a new direct rail link between the coastal pilgrim town of Puri and the tribal-dominated Koraput region on Monday as Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw flagged off the Puri-Koraput Express from Puri railway station.

Train No. 18407/18408 Puri-Koraput Express will operate as a tri-weekly service.

According to the official timetable, the train will depart Puri at 7 am on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, reaching Koraput at 11.30 pm the same day.

On the return journey, it will leave Koraput at 5 am on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays and arrive in Puri at 10.20 pm. 

Major stoppages and timings 

Train No. 18407 (Puri-Koraput Express)

• Puri: 7.00 am

• Khurda Road: 8.05 am/8.10 am

• Bhubaneswar: 8.30 am/8.35 am

• Sambalpur: 1.20 pm/1.30 pm

• Titlagarh: 4.25 pm/4.35 pm

• Kesinga: 4.53 pm/4.55 pm

• Rayagada: 7.45 pm/8.15 pm

• Koraput: 11.30 pm (Arrival)

Train No. 18408 (Koraput-Puri Express)

• Koraput: 5.00 am

• Rayagada: 9.00 am/9.30 am

• Kesinga: 11.20 am/11.22 am

• Titlagarh: 11.40 am/11.50 am

• Sambalpur: 2.50 pm/3.00 pm

• Bhubaneswar: 8.15 pm/8.20 pm

• Khurda Road: 8.50 pm/8.55 pm

• Puri: 10.20 pm (Arrival)

Besides the major stations, the train will have commercial stoppages at Naraj Marthapur, Dhenkanal, Talcher Road, Angul, Boinda, Rairakhol, Bargarh Road, Balangir, Muniguda, Tikiri, Laxmipur Road, Kakiriguma and Damanjodi.