Okha: The Railway Board has approved the regularisation of special train 09520/09519 Okha–Tirupati Special as 19559/19560 Okha–Tirupati Express, which will now run as a weekly regular service between Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, according to an official communication.

As per the schedule, 19560 Okha–Tirupati Express will depart from Okha at 23:35 every Monday and reach Tirupati at 23:30 on Wednesday. In the return direction, 19559 Tirupati–Okha Express will leave Tirupati at 08:15 every Thursday and arrive at Okha at 11:50 on Saturday.

The train will have major commercial stoppages at Dwarka, Khambhaliya, Jamnagar, Hapa, Rajkot, Wankaner, Surendranagar, Viramgam, Ahmedabad, Anand, Vadodara, Bharuch, Udhna, Nandurbar, Amalner, Jalgaon, Bhusaval, Malkapur, Akola, Washim, Hingoli Deccan, Basmat, Purna, Hazur Sahib Nanded, Basar, Nizamabad, Kamareddi, Bolarum, Kacheguda, Mahbubnagar, Gadwal, Kurnool City, Dhone, Tadipatri, Cuddapah, Razampeta and Renigunta.

According to railway officials, the train will run with ICF rake composition of 20 coaches, including 4 General Second Class, 10 Sleeper Class, 3 AC 3-tier, 1 AC 2-tier, and 2 Guard-cum-Luggage vans.

Maintenance of the rake will be carried out at Okha, while secondary maintenance will be done at Tirupati. Watering facilities will be provided at Rajkot, Ahmedabad, Nandurbar, Bhusaval, Purna and Kacheguda, while crew change and technical stops are planned at Rajkot, Ahmedabad, Bhusaval and Purna.

The regularisation of the train will provide a direct weekly rail link between Saurashtra, Ahmedabad region and Tirupati, benefiting pilgrims and long-distance passengers travelling between Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. DeshGujarat