PM flags off inaugural run of Vande Bharat Express from Doon to Delhi
By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 25 May: Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the inaugural run of the Vande Bharat Express from Dehradun to Delhi via video conferencing today. On this occasion, he also dedicated to the nation newly electrified rail sections and declared Uttarakhand to be a 100 percent electric traction state.
Addressing the gathering at Dehradun Railway Station from Delhi through a video conference, the Prime Minister congratulated everyone from Uttarakhand at the inauguration of the Vande Bharat Express service. He reminded that the travel time between the two cities will be further reduced with this train and the onboard facilities will also make for a pleasant travel experience.
Throwing light on his just concluded three-nation tour to Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia, Modi claimed that the world is looking at India with great expectations. India has become a ray of hope for the world when it comes to strengthening the economy and fighting poverty. He also recalled India’s tackling of the Coronavirus pandemic and the world’s largest vaccination campaign carried out in the country. He emphasised that beautiful states like Uttarakhand should make the most of today’s situation when people from around the world want to come to India. Modi claimed that the Vande Bharat train is also going to help Uttarakhand take full advantage of this opportunity by making travel more convenient.
During his address, Modi also recalled his visit to Kedarnath and remembered his spontaneous statement that this decade is going to be the decade of Uttarakhand. He praised the development push of the state while keeping, and its good law & order situation. He expressed the hope that Uttarakhand will become a global centre for raising the spiritual consciousness of the world. He, however, cautioned that a lot of work needs to be done to realise this potential. He mentioned that the number of pilgrims for the Char Dham Yatra keeps on breaking older records. Considering the number of pilgrims coming for the darshan of Baba Kedar, Kumbh/Ardh Kumbh at Haridwar and the Kanwar Yatra, it is safe to conclude that not many states witness so many arrivals. It is the blessing of the divine but, at the same time, a monumental task to manage.
Modi further claimed that the double engine government is working with twice the power and speed to make this ‘Bhagirath’ task easier.
The PM added that, in Uttarakhand, the government’s emphasis is on the ‘Navratna (9 gems of development). The First Ratna is the Rs 1300 crore rejuvenation work at Kedarnath-Badrinath Dham. The second is the Rs 2,500 crore Ropeway project at Gaurikund-Kedarnath and Gobind Ghat-Hemkunt Sahib. The third is the renovation of ancient temples of Kumaon under the Manas Khand Mandir Mala programme. The fourth is promotion of the homestay scheme in the entire state where more than 4,000 homestays have been registered so far. The fifth is the development of 16 eco-tourism destinations. The sixth is expansion of health services in Uttarakhand. He reminded that an AIIMS satellite centre will soon come up in Udham Singh Nagar. The seventh navratna, he said, is the Rs 2000 crore Tehri Lake Development Project. The eighth is the development of Haridwar and Rishikesh as the capital of Yoga and adventure tourism and, finally, the ninth is the Tanakpur Bageshwar Rail Line.
He said these Navratnas are being consolidated with a new push to infrastructure development in the state. Work is going on at a rapid pace on the Rs 12,000 crores Char Dham Master Plan. The Delhi-Dehradun Expressway will further make the journey faster and easier. Modi also mentioned the upcoming projects related to Ropeway connectivity in Uttarakhand. The Parvat Mala Project is going to change the state’s fortune in the coming days.
He remarked that the Rs 16,000 crores Rishikesh-Karanprayag Rail Project will be completed within the next 2-3 years. The project will make a major part of Uttarakhand accessible by train and push investment, industry and employment.
The Prime Minister remarked that, with the assistance of the Central Government, Uttarakhand is emerging as the hub of tourism, adventure tourism, as well as a film shooting and wedding destination. Tourist spots of the state are attracting visitors from all across the globe and the Vande Bharat Express will be greatly beneficial to them. The Prime Minister observed that travelling by train remains the first choice for those who are accompanied by their family members and the Vande Bharat is gradually becoming the go-to means of transportation in the country.
He added that India of the 21st century can scale further heights of development by maximising the potential of infrastructure. He alleged that the governments of the past could not understand the importance of infrastructure, even as they were preoccupied with corruption and dynastic politics. Even though huge promises were made by the previous governments regarding high-speed trains in India, the Prime Minister observed that they even failed to get rid of unmanned gates from the rail network. Modi pointed out that only one-third of the country’s rail network had been electrified by 2014 making it impossible to think of a fast-running train. Great transformation has happened after 2024 in the Railways Sector. Only 600 kilometres of rail lines were electrified every year on an average before 2014, while 6,000 kilometres of railway lines are being electrified every year at the present. Today, more than 90 percent of the country’s railway network has been electrified. In Uttarakhand, 100 percent electrification of the entire rail network has been achieved.
The PM credited the development work to right intention, policy and dedication. Underlining that the boost in the railway budget in comparison to 2014 has directly benefited Uttarakhand, the Prime Minister disclosed that 5 years before 2014, the average railway budget for the state was less than Rs 200 crore, while today the rail budget is Rs 5,000 crore, which is a 25 fold increase. He emphasised the importance of connectivity in a hill state where people from the villages were forced to migrate due to a lack of connectivity and underlined that the Government wants to prevent that suffering for the coming generations. He also noted that modern connectivity will also be of great use in obtaining easy access to our borders and the soldiers defending the nation should not be inconvenienced in any way.
As present on the occasion at the Dehradun Railway Station were Governor Lt General Gurmit Singh (Retd), Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav and Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, and addressed the gathering.
The semi-high speed train will be India’s 17th and Uttarakhand’s first-ever Vande Bharat train, which commenced its inaugural run from Dehradun to Delhi’s Anand Vihar terminal.
According to Northern Railway, the regular operations for the Delhi-Dehradun Vande Bharat Express will commence on 29 May. The train will cover a distance of 302 km in four hours and forty-five minutes. It will operate six days a week, except Wednesday.
The Vande Bharat is scheduled to depart from Dehradun at 7 a.m. and will reach Delhi’s Anand Vihar terminal at 11.45 a.m., while it would depart from Anand Vihar at 5.50 p.m., and arrive at Dehradun by 10.35 p.m.
During the journey, the train will stop at Meerut City, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, Roorkee, and Haridwar.
The fare for an AC chair seat from Delhi to Dehradun will be Rs 1,065, while an executive chair car ticket will cost Rs 1,890.
According to the Prime Minister Office’s (PMO) official release, the train is equipped with advanced safety features including the Kavach technology.
