Amritsar-Chandigarh Duronto Express chugs off today

The good news is that the date of the debut run is fixed. The flip side is that two elements lay an awkward parallel track to the occasion on its eve.

The much-awaited Chandigarh-Amritsar Duronto Express, long after it was proposed in the 2010 Railway Budget, will be flagged off tomorrow. Even as the train covering 217 km is set for its maiden journey from the western border town, two handicaps linger. One, the railway authorities have yet to finalise the fare (till the filing of this report). Two, as a result of it, the train has not been added to the railway internet site, making online booking impossible for now.

 

The fare, Ambala division DRM P K Sanghi said, was being finalised by the head office. “A decision on this will be made anytime now,” he told Business Standard.

The train, with two AC coaches and 12 non-AC chair car coaches, will depart from Amritsar at 5.25 am and reach Chandigarh at 9.30 am. The return trip from Chandigarh will be at 7 pm; it will reach Amritsar at 11.15 pm.

The two cities currently have no direct rail link. A passenger train used to ply on the route via Ambala Cantonment till 2007, till poor passenger response prompted the Railways to stop the service. The resumption of the service is thus expected to benefit thousands of commuters between the two cities.

Tour operators feel the Duronto will boost the tourism in the state. Insiders feel the train facility will curb the road transport mafia operating on the Chandigarh-Amritsar route much to the relief of the public, traders and entrepreneurs.

Railway functionaries said the train would facilitate the rail link from Chandigarh to Morinda and that it would later be extended to Amritsar, via Sirhind, Ludhiana and Jalandhar. The completion of the rail link between Morinda and Sahnewal (by this year-end) is expected to do away with the need of a separate train to reach Sirhind. The train will start from Chandigarh, and will reach Ludhiana via Mohali, Kharar and Morinda.