Bangalore, Dec 29 (IANS) The maiden non-stop Duranto express from Bangalore to Howrah will be flagged off Jan 3, union Minister of State for Railways K.H. Muniyappa said here Tuesday.
“The non-stop Duranto will leave Yeshvantpur station Jan 3 at 11.15 a.m. and reach Howrah Jan 4 at 4 p.m. Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee will flag off the Howrah-Bangalore Duranto Wednesday, which will reach here Thursday,” Muniyappa told reporters here.

During her visit to Bangalore Dec 8, Banerjee announced that the first Duranto from Karnataka would be her New Year gift to the people of the state.

Four of the nine new trains sanctioned for Karnataka this fiscal (2009-10) have been made operational recently. The remaining five will be commenced by February.

“The Yeshvantpur-Mysore express and Tirupati-Mysore express will be extended up to Chamarajanagar from Jan 3. Similarly, the Mumbai-Karwar express in the coastal region will be extended up to Mangalore soon,” Muniyappa noted.

Of the new trains, the Bangalore-Kuchuveli super-fast express and Bangalore-Lucknow-Rae Bareli express will begin in February.