Railways Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu on Thursday flagged off a Bhubaneswar-Krishnarajpuram-Bhubaneswar Weekly Humsafar Express train through videoconferencing from the Railway Board, New Delhi.
Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram and Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan were present, among others.
Prabhu too laid foundation-stone for a mechanised laundry under BOOT Model at Bhubaneswar railway station and inaugurated free WI-Fi service at the Sambalpur and Vizianagarm railway stations.
State Tourism and Culture Minister Ashok Chandra Panda, MP Dr Prasanna Patasani and MlA Priyadarshi Mishra were present at a function in Bhubaneswar.
Though flagged off on Thursday, regular service of the train would begin from Bhubaneswar on July 17 and from Krishnarajpuram (Bangalore) on July 18.
Speaking on the occasion, Dharmendra Pradhan said Odisha is now getting more railway projects during the Narendra Modi Government which was not seen during the earlier Government.
He requested Prabhu to run the Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express through Dhenkanal, Talcher, Angul and Sambalpur.