RAYAGADA: The Puri-Parlakhemundi train was flagged off at Gunupur on Sunday. The train has been extended till Gunupur after the railway line was converted to board gauge.Senior most track man of the East Coast Railway from Visakhapatnam M Mukundan did the honours. MPs Sidhant Mohapatra and Jayram Pangi, local MLA Ramamurty Mutika and his Parlakhemundi counterpart K Narayan Rao and former MLA Hema Gomango were present.The narrow gauge railway line, covering 50 km, from Naupada to Parlakhemundi was constructed by Krishna Chandra Gajapati Narayan Dei in 1889 to connect Parlakhemundi with Nuapada, the nearest rail head. The line was further extended to Gunupur in two phases in 1929 and 1931. After Independence, the Railway Board decided to convert the narrow gauge to board gauge line. However, the foundation stone for the project was laid on September 26, 2002. The broad gauge would reduce the distance from Rayagada to Naupada by 100 km.
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