New Jalpaiguri–Nagercoil Amrit Bharat Express to Link Himalayan and Southern India

Indian Railways has announced the introduction of the New Jalpaiguri–Nagercoil Amrit Bharat Express, a long-distance train service that will connect the eastern Himalayan foothills with the southern tip of the country, significantly strengthening national rail connectivity.
The train will link New Jalpaiguri, a key gateway to the Northeast and a major hub close to the Bhutan and Bangladesh borders, with Nagercoil in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu. The route is considered strategically important as it connects border-adjacent regions, major industrial belts, ports and densely populated hinterlands across eastern, central and southern India through a single rail corridor.
The service will operate on a weekly basis. The New Jalpaiguri–Nagercoil Amrit Bharat Express will depart from New Jalpaiguri at 4.45 p.m. on Wednesdays and reach Nagercoil at 11 p.m. on Fridays. In the return direction, the Nagercoil–New Jalpaiguri service will depart at 11 p.m. on Sundays and arrive at New Jalpaiguri at 5 a.m. on Wednesdays.
The train is expected to benefit passengers from several districts across West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. In West Bengal, it will serve Jalpaiguri, Malda, Paschim Medinipur, Howrah, Hooghly and Birbhum. In Bihar, Kishanganj and Katihar will be covered, while in Odisha the route includes Ganjam, Khordha, Cuttack, Jajpur and Bhadrak. Key districts in Andhra Pradesh include S.P.S.R. Nellore, Prakasam, West Godavari, East Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam and Chittoor. In Tamil Nadu, the train will pass through Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Virudhunagar, Madurai, Dindigul, Tiruppur, Coimbatore, Erode, Salem and Vellore.
The service will also connect several prominent tourist destinations, including the Darjeeling–Dooars region near New Jalpaiguri, the beaches of Visakhapatnam, Madurai with its famed Meenakshi Amman Temple, and Coimbatore, the gateway to the Nilgiris.
Railway officials said the new Amrit Bharat Express is expected to boost tourism, improve access to markets for small traders, and support regional development by enhancing economic and cultural linkages between eastern, southern and border regions of the country.