Chandigarh, September 30

Accepting Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh’s request for special trains for Sultanpur Lodhi to meet the rush of pilgrims expected there during the 550th Prakash Purb celebrations of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the Ministry of Railways has decided to run 14 special intra-state and long distance inter-state trains connecting the historic town from November 1, 2019.

These special passenger and express trains will facilitate devotees from Punjab and other regions, significantly Nanded and Patna Sahib, according to an official spokesperson. Earlier this month, the Centre had accepted the state government’s proposal to announce a special express train connecting New Delhi with Sultanpur Lodhi.

The ongoing works to upgrade the Sultanpur Lodhi Railway Station would be completed by the Railways before the historic celebrations scheduled to be held in November, the spokesperson said.

As per the communiqué issued by the Northern Railway, the Amritsar-Dera Baba Nanak diesel multiple unit (DEMU) would ply 60 times, between 1st and 16th November, 2019, starting from Amritsar at 9:10 PM to reach Dera Baba Nanak at 2:30 AM.

Anticipating a heavy inflow of pilgrims, the Railways would also be running another train connecting the historic towns of Dera Baba Nanak daily and Sultanpur Lodhi, which would leave Dera Baba Nanak at 7:15 PM to reach its destination at 1:30 AM. The frequency of the train would be doubled from 4th November.

The Ferozpur-Patna Junction express would run thrice between 1st to 16th November, 2019, departing from Patna Sahib at 10:45 PM on November 6, 10 and 16. For return journey it would start from Ferozpur at 12:40 AM on November 5, 9 and 14, to reach Nanded at 6:05 PM.

The weekly Ferozpur-Nanded express would start from Nanded on Saturday at 9:00 AM and reach Ferozpur via Bhopal, Agra, and Bhatinda at 10:50 PM. It would depart for its return journey from Ferozpur on Thursday at 1:30 AM and reach Nanded at 1:00 PM.  The Hissar – Sultanpur Lodhi would run 28 trips every day, as would the Sultanpur Lodhi to Ganganagar, Sultanpur to Nawanshar Doaba, and Fazilka–Sultanpur Lodhi trains. Old Delhi-Lohian Khas would run 40 trips on alternate days, leaving Delhi at 11:50 PM on Mondays.