Title - Bikaner-Coimbatore Weekly AC Express inaugural run today

Regular services likely from Saturday The Bikaner – Coimbatore Weekly AC Express is all set for an inaugural run from Bikaner to Coimbatore on Wednesday (September 12).The train with the inaugural run number 04739 is becoming a regular train with effect from September 15 from Coimbatore as train number 22476 and from Bikaner on September 20 as train number 22475, according to railway sources.

Demand: Announced in the Railway Budget in February this year, the long pending demand of Coimbatore for a train through the Konkan route is coming true for people from Rajasthan and Gujarat.The inaugural run of the train from Bikaner will depart at 11.45 a.m. on Wednesday and will reach Coimbatore Junction on Friday at 5.45 p.m. The duration is 54 hours for the inaugural run alone. The regular service will take 45 hours.The train will have a coach composition of one first AC coach and four II AC coaches and eight AC 3 tier coaches. The train would cover 2,781 km with 24 halts.To begin with the train is not likely to have a pantry car but catering service will be available. Pantry service might be introduced once patronage picks up.With coaches rolled out of the Kapurthala coach factory, the train provides the much required connectivity with Northern Kerala, Konkan region, Dakshin Karnataka, Maharastra, Gujarat and Rajasthan benefitting the migrant population.

Halts

The important halts for this train are Bikaner, Jodhpur, Marwar, Abu Road, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Ratnagiri, Madgaon, Karwar, Bhatkal, Udupi and Mangalore.

Halts at Bhatkal, Udupi and Mangalore in Karnataka and Ratnagiri in Maharastra will benefit the devotees, while textile merchants stand to benefit because of the halts at Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Surat. This also provides the first ever direct connectivity for Coimbatore with Goa. It also provides a link with Ahmedabad, besides the existing weekly Rajkot Express.

Timings

The timings of the regular service from mid-September will be as follows: Departure at Coimbatore on Sundays at 3.20 p.m. and arrival at Bikaner on Tuesdays at 12.25 p.m. In the return direction, it will leave Bikaner on Thursdays at 5.45 a.m. and reach Coimbatore on Saturdays at 2.50 a.m.