Ranchi Rajdhani to run via Lohardaga-Tori route to New Delhi from 11 Nov, all you need to know

The Ranchi-New Delhi Rajdhani Express will now operate on changed route, starting 11 November. The 12453/12454 Rajdhani will reach its destination via the Lohardaga-Tori route, after the Railway Board approved the new route. The train is expected to stop at the Barkakana, Daltonganj, Garhwa Road stations, as well as the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Junction, Prayagraj and Kanpur stations before reaching its destination at New Delhi. However, while the train is expected to run on the Lohardaga route every Thursday, it will not stop at the station. According to the timetable, the Ranchi Rajdhani Express departs at 4:10 pm from New Delhi every week on Wednesday and Saturday and reaches Ranchi the next day. It would take the route back to New Delhi on Thursday and Sunday. According to Times of India, the changed route will lead to a reduction of 90 minutes in the travel time. As per the divisional railway manager of the Ranchi station, Pradeep Gupta, the Rajdhani would run on the Ranchi-Muri-Barkakana route once a week and the Lohardaga-Tori once. It would also run on the Ranchi–Bokaro route twice a week. The proposal to alter the route of the train had been pitched by the South Eastern Railway (SER) in July this year, almost eight months after the Ranchi railway division had finished electrification and speed trials on the route. The proposal was formally approved by the Railway Board, with the announcement being made on 8 November. The decision has been welcomed by the Jharkhand Passengers’ Association. However, the association has also demanded that the train stop at the Lohardaga station. Apart from the route change in the Ranchi Rajdhani, the Railway Board also approved a special express train between Ranchi and Uttar Pradesh’s Chopan railway station. The train, which runs every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, will arrive at Chopan at 4 pm after leaving Ranchi at 8:20 am.