Centre making record investment for railway infra modernisation: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asserted that the Union government is making record investment for railway infrastructure modernisationIn an address after virtually flagging off HowrahNew Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express the Prime Minister said that railway stations including New Jalpaiguri are being developed on the lines of airportsNoting that doubling of tracks and electrification is underway at a record speed he said that the eastern and western freight corridors will bring revolutionary changes to the countrys economyTodays Vande Bharat train was launched from the land where Vande Mataram slogan was coined he pointed outThe Prime Minister added The launch date of December 30 is significant as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had hoisted the tricolour in Andaman and Nicobar Islands on this day in 1943On the issue of water pollution he said that the Centre is laying stress on preventing pollution of riversAlso Read PM Modi virtually flags off HowrahNJP Vande Bharat ExpressWest Bengal will have 25 new sewage treatment projects 11 of which have already been completed while seven will be launched during the day he saidIn this year of Azaadi ke Amrit Kaal we will adopt forwardlooking approach to take country ahead The world is looking at India with great faith every Indian has to exert himself to live up to this expectation he addedEarlier in the day PM Modi virtually flagged off the express in the presence of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata BanerjeeAlso present on the occasion were Governor C V Ananda Bose and Union Railway Minister Ashwini VaishnawThe seventh Vande Bharat Express started its journey at 1145 am from platform number 22 of Howrah Station to travel to New Jalpaiguri the gateway to the NortheastThe blueandwhite train which covers a distance of 564 km in 745 hours will save three hours of travel time compared to other trains on the route officials said It will have three stoppages at Barsoi Malda and BolpurThe Vande Bharat Express with modern passenger amenities is likely to be preferred both by regular passengers tea industry executives and tourists travelling to the Himalayas in North Bengal and SikkimThe stateoftheart train has 16 coaches including two for driversEarlier Banerjee while speaking on the occasion condoled the demise of Modis mother Hiraben Your mother is also our mother she saidThe CM also said work on four out of the five railway projects that Modi will launch on Friday were started during her tenure as railway ministerThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever