The Odisha government has urged the Centre to run more Vande Bharat Express trains through the state.

The demand was raised on a day when the new Vande Bharat Express had its trial run between Howrah and Puri on Friday. The state sought the introduction of the Vande Bharat Express trains on Bhubaneswar-Hyderabad, Puri-Rourkela, and Puri-Howrah routes.

In a letter to Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Odisha commerce and transport minister Tukuni Sahu said: “I would like to request you to introduce Vande Bharat Express trains through Odisha to meet the growing aspirations of people. Request you to introduce the Vande Bharat Express trains between Puri and Howrah to offer faster travel options to passengers.”

The minister further said there were very few fast trains connecting western Odisha and Bhubaneswar.

“I would request you to introduce the Vande Bharat Express train between Puri and Rourkela connecting Sambalpur which will facilitate faster passenger movement from Western Odisha districts to the state capital. It will boost intra-state economic activity and connect the airports in Jharsuguda, Rourkela and Bhubaneswar,” the minister said.

Stating that a large number of people from Odisha reside in Hyderabad, the minister said the introduction of the Vande Bharat Express connecting Bhubaneswar and Hyderabad will facilitate faster movement of passengers between the two capital cities