Pilgrims' progress & the railways' look-east policy

The holy city, the abode of Mahaprabhu, Jagannath Puri, is ready for the Rath Yatra.

- Ashwini Vaishnaw

It is a journey of faith for the millions of devotees coming from across the globe. And Bhartiya Rail is at the service of these pilgrims, facilitating their overall experience in the Shreekshetra Puri.

The last 11 years have been historic for Odisha's railway infrastructure development. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's purvodaya policy, Odisha's railway budget allocation has seen a 12-times jump to over ₹10,500 crore in 2025-26 as compared to the annual average during 2009-14.

Since 2014, over 2,100 km of new tracks have been laid in Odisha, more than the entire rail network of Malaysia. Approximately ₹73,000 crore worth of projects for constructing new tracks in Odisha are ongoing: 59 Amrit stations are being developed, including 16 stations in aspirational districts; six Vande Bharat services covering 17 districts are operational.

The most special contribution of Indian Railways to Odisha is during the Rath Yatra. The railways undertakes the task of serving lakhs of Rath Yatra pilgrims every year.