PURI, FEB15   :     Puri to Ayodhya express train service will be commissioned by July-August this year to connect two major religiously important places of the country, Union Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Thursday.

Addressing Bharatiya Janata Party workers here, Vaishnaw announced that the long-standing demand to connect Puri- Konark with train services proposal will be approved soon.

He said before 2014 the annual railway budget for Odisha was only Rs.800 crores. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given priority to developing Odisha and now the annual railway budget for Odisha has crossed Rs.10,000 crores per year.

While laying of the new railway tracks was only 40 to 45 km per year now it has increased to 480 km per year, almost a ten-fold rise in laying of new tracks in Odisha.

Vaishnaw further said in Odisha, Puri is being given priority. The Vande Bharat train was first commissioned from Puri in the state, he added

The Union Minister said the Puri railway station’s new construction work which began 18 months ago has been making steady progress.

After completion of this state-of-the-art railway station passengers and devotees will have more comfort in traveling by trains, he added.(UNI)