In response to sustained passenger demand and to provide greater travel convenience, Indian Railways has approved the regularisation of the Bhanjapur–Puri–Bhanjapur Special trains into regular Express services.

Accordingly, Train No. 08011/08012 Bhanjapur–Puri–Bhanjapur Special will now operate as Train No. 18017/18018 Bhanjapur–Puri–Bhanjapur Express. The regular services will commence from 21st May 2026 from Bhanjapur and from 22nd May 2026 from Puri.

Train No. 18017 Bhanjapur–Puri Express will depart from Bhanjapur at 11:10 PM and arrive at Puri at 5:50 AM the following day. In the return direction, Train No. 18018 Puri–Bhanjapur Express will leave Puri at 11:50 PM and reach Bhanjapur at 6:50 AM the next morning.

Since their introduction as Special services, these trains have received encouraging patronage from passengers. Considering the consistent demand and the importance of strengthening regional rail connectivity, the services have now been converted into regular Express trains to ensure greater convenience, reliability, and continuity of operations.

The trains provide vital connectivity to important stations including Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Baripada, Balasore, Soro, Bhadrak, Jajpur Keonjhar Road, and Khurda Road.

Passengers are requested to visit the Indian Railways website (www.enquiry.indianrail.gov.in), dial 139, or download the NTES app for detailed arrival and departure timings at the respective stations.

Source-ECoR