The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has decided to run Kisan special trains from Agartala to Howrah and Sealdah with effect from February 11, 2021 for the benefit of farmers and transporters.

Kisan special train no 00320 will leave from Agartala at 7:15 pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday to reach Sealdah at 1 pm on the 3rd day.

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The train will have stoppages at the stations Dharmanagar, Badarpur, Lumding, Guwahati, Kamakhya, Goalpara, New Bongaigaon, New Alipurduar, New Coochbehar, New Jalpaiguri, Malda Town, Khaltipur, Bardhaman and Bandel for loading/unloading.

Kisan special train no 00328 will leave from Agartala at 7:15 pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to reach Howrah at 12:45 pm on the 3rd day, said a statement issued by the NF Railway chief public relations officer, Subhanan Chanda.

Also read: Indian Railways introduces special train for peasants

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The train will have stoppages at stations Dharmanagar, Badarpur, Lumding, Guwahati, Kamakhya, Goalpara, New Bongaigaon, New Alipurduar, New Coochbehar, New Jalpaiguri, Malda Town, Khaltipur, Bardhaman, Bandel and Serampore for loading/unloading.

As per the announcement made in the Union Budget 2020-21, the Indian Railways has started running Kisan Rail services to transport perishables and agri products, including milk, meat and fish, the statement said.

The first Kisan Rail service was flagged off on August 7, 2020 between Devlali (Maharashtra) and Danapur (Bihar).

These Kisan Rail trains are run on time-tabled paths and their punctuality is strictly being monitored to avoid any en-route detentions and delays, Chand said.

“This is multi-commodity, multi-consignor/consignee, multi-loading/unloading transportation product which is aimed at providing wider market to our Kisans,” Chand said.

Commodities which may be transported via Kisan Rail are tea, rubber, turmeric, black pepper, mustard, soyabin, betel nut, oranges, pineapple, ginger, kiwi, passion fruit, chillies(green), large cardamon and other fruits & vegetables.

“A subsidy of 50% is being granted on the transportation of fruits and vegetables via Kisan Rail. The primary objective of running Kisan Rail trains is to increase the income in farm sector by connecting production centres to markets and consumption centres,” the statement said.

“It is expected that with the introduction of this Kisan Rail consignors/farmers will get benefitted,” it added.