Puri: A new express train between Puri and Koraput was flagged off by Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday.
The newly-launched 18407/18408 Puri-Koraput Express will operate as a tri-weekly service, providing a direct rail link between the coastal pilgrim town of Puri and the tribal-dominated Koraput in Southern Odisha.
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.
Officials said enhanced rail connectivity is expected to improve market access for local producers, facilitate movement of value-added products such as Koraput Coffee, promote tourism, and create new economic opportunities for the tribal communities of the region. Together, the train and the coffee reflect a shared vision of inclusive development – where better infrastructure empowers local enterprise and takes Odisha’s tribal products to wider national and global markets.
They said the Kruti Koraput Coffee pack is not just a premium regional product, but also the success of tribal entrepreneurship, sustainable agriculture and improved connectivity. Grown in the Eastern Ghats of Koraput, the coffee is primarily shade-grown Arabica, cultivated by tribal farmers using environmentally sustainable practices.
The launch of the Puri–Koraput Express complements this success by strengthening connectivity between Koraput and major commercial centres across Odisha.-
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