Union Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhu (Press Trust of India photo)
Union Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu today flagged off three pairs of weekly express trains - two for West Bengal and one for Bihar - from Anand Vihar station in New Delhi.
While two of the three trains are meant for Malda and Santragachi in West Bengal, the other one will ply to Saharsa in Bihar once a week.
"People from several states come to Delhi to work leaving their families behind. They yearn to go back once in a while and these new trains are for them so that they can go back and meet their families," Mr Prabhu said at the flag-off ceremony.
While all the trains are weekly, Mr Prabhu said that their frequency may be increased if there is a demand for more services in these routes.
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Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha, Union Minister Harsh Vardhan, East Delhi MP Maheish Girri and Railway Board Chairman A K Mittal were among the others present during the occasion.
According to an official release, the Malda-bound train would be available from Anand Vihar station every Saturday and the return journey would commence every Friday from Malda.
The Anand Vihar-Santragachi weekly express train would be available every Tuesday from New Delhi and every Monday from Santragachi, as per the schedule.
For Saharsa, the weekly express train will be leaving the Anand Vihar station every Wednesday and start the return journey every Thursday.
All the trains were announced in the Rail Budget 2014-15. Mr Prabhu had recently launched a new Shatabdi train for Bhatinda. He also launched Indore-Jammu train service last week.
According to a Railways Ministry official, all new trains announced in the Rail Budget 2014-15 are likely to be launched in the current fiscal.