Following is from a report in Hindu.

A bi-weekly express between Nizamabad and Sambalpur will be introduced on March 23. The train No.8310 will leave Nizamabad at 6.15 p.m. on Tuesdays and Saturdays, arrive/leave Secunderabad at 9.25 p.m. before reaching Sambalpur at 8.15 p.m. the next day. This service will commence on March 24.

The train no 8309 will depart from Sambalpur at 8.15 a.m. on Mondays and Fridays, will arrive/leave at Secunderabad at 8.20/8.40 a.m the next day. It will reach Nizamabad at 11.50 a.m. This service will commence on March 23.

This train will connect the Sambalpur-Titlagarh-Rayagada part of Orissa with Hyderabad. With this the direct connectivity between Sambalpur and major cities in the southern states will be as follows:

  • Hydearbad: Twice a week
  • Bangalore: Thrice a week
  • Chennai: Daily
  • Kochi, Coimbatore: Daily
  • Vishakapatnam: Fifteen times a week
  • Vijayawada: Twelve times a week

Earlier in February, Ranchi-Varanasi Express was extended to Sambalpur twice a week. With that extension, Sambalpur’s direct connectivity to other parts of India are as follows:

  • Kolkata: Twice daily
  • Delhi, Amritsar: Thrice a week
  • Varanasi: Twice a week
  • Mumbai: Twice (to become Thrice) a week
  • Ahmedabad, Surat: Weekly
  • Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bhopal: Weekly
  • Ranchi: Eighteen times a week
  • Tata: Twenty two times a week
  • Dhanbad, Bokaro: Daily
  • Nagpur: Four (to become five) times a week.
  • Raipur: Eleven (to become twelve) times a week.

Jharsuguda Junction is only 50 kms from Sambalpur. If one takes into account trains throughJharsuguda then the connectivity to Mumbai and Kolkata skyrockets, to Delhi and Ahmedabad increases significantly and to Pune is added.