Title - Duronto Express re-launch on Sept 11

A year after the much awaited Duronto Express between Amritsar and Chandigarh was launched, the Railways is all set to re-launch it on September 11 as Amritsar-Chandigarh Superfast Express, which will halt at Jalandhar and Ludhiana so as to make it financially viable.The decision came after Duronto evoked poor response from passengers who were demanding stoppages at Jalandhar and Ludhiana. However, the Railway authorities were not open to the idea earlier, contending that Duronto was a non-stop train. Later, the authorities gave in to passengers' demand and decided to rename the train as Amritsar-Chandigarh Superfast Express.Duronto was the first train connecting the holy city with the state capital, but it ran into losses due to low occupancy, forcing the Railways to reduce the number of coaches just a few months after its launch.Apart from stoppages at Ludhiana and Jalandhar, the train will also witness a change in its fares which will go down as meals will no longer be served to the passengers as was the case with Duronto. The fare for Amritsar to Chandigarh will be Rs 321 for AC and Rs 91 for non-AC, including reservation charges. Similarly, the fare for Amritsar to Jalandhar will be Rs 170 for AC and Rs 53 for non-AC. For Amritsar to Ludhiana, it will be RS 230 for AC and Rs 66 for non-AC.The train will depart from Amritsar at 5:20 am, reach Jalandhar at 6:12 am, Ludhiana at 7:15 am and Chandigarh at 9:45 am. On return journey, the train will depart from Chandigarh at 6:50 pm, reach Ludhiana at 9:05 pm, Jalandhar at 9:57 pm and Amritsar at 11:15 pm.

The train will halt at Ludhiana for five minutes and Jalandhar for three minutes. The train would cover the distance between Amritsar and Chandigarh in four hours and 25 minutes.