Chennai: Southern Railway’s first Amrit Bharat train will operate between Erode and Jogbani in Bihar.

Train No. 16601 will depart Erode every Thursday at 7 am and arrive in Jogbani at 7 pm on Saturday. The return service will leave Jogbani every Sunday at 3.15 pm and reach Erode at 7 am on Wednesday.

The train will halt at 50 stations, including Salem, Katpadi, Perambur, Vijayawada, Nagpur, Jabalpur, Patna and Katihar. It will have 11 second-class sitting coaches, 8 second-class sitting-cum-luggage coaches and two brake-cum-luggage coaches. One coach will be reserved for railway staff equipment.

The Amrit Bharat rake, built by the Integral Coach Factory in Perambur, was allotted to Southern Railway in February 2025 but has remained idle until now.

The first service will be inaugurated on September 15 from Jogbani to Erode and will initially run as a special train.