PM Modi lays foundation stone of Rs 85,000 cr railway projects, flags off Vande Bharat train between Ahmedabad-Mumbai Central

Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Pic/PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of Rs 85,000 crore railway projects, including the launch of 10 new Vande Bharat trains, reported news agency PTI.

The PM launched the projects from Sabarmati area of Ahmedabad in Gujarat after visiting the Dedicated Freight Corridor's (DFC) Operation Control Centre.

He laid the foundation stone of railway workshops, loco sheds, pit lines/ coaching depots, Phaltan-Baramati new line; electric traction system upgradation work and dedicated to the nation two new sections of the Dedicated Freight Corridor between New Khurja to Sahnewal (401 Rkm) section of the eastern DFC and New Makarpura to New Gholvad section (244 Rkm) of the western DFC; western DFC's Operation Control Centre (OCC), Ahmedabad, reported PTI.

The PM flagged off 10 new Vande Bharat trains between Ahmedabad-Mumbai Central, Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam, Mysuru-Dr MGR Central (Chennai), Patna- Lucknow, New Jalpaiguri-Patna, Puri-Visakhapatnam, Lucknow-Dehradun, Kalaburagi-Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal Bengaluru, Ranchi-Varanasi and Khajuraho- Delhi (Nizamuddin), reported PTI.

He also flagged off the extension of four Vande Bharat trains.

The Ahmedabad-Jamnagar Vande Bharat train is being extended till Dwarka, Ajmer-Delhi Sarai Rohilla Vande Bharat till Chandigarh, Gorakhpur-Lucknow Vande Bharat till Prayagraj and Thiruvananthapuram-Kasargod Vande Bharat till Mangaluru.

The PM also flagged off two new passenger trains between Asansol and Hatia & Tirupati and Kollam stations, reported PTI.

PM Modi also flagged off freight trains on the DFC from various locations - New Khurja Junction, Sahnewal, New Rewari, New Kishangarh, New Gholvad, and New Makarpura, reported PTI.

He dedicated 50 Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras at various railway stations. These centres will offer affordable and quality generic medicines to the people.

The PM also dedicated to the nation 51 Gati Shakti Multi-Modal Cargo Terminals, which will promote seamless movement of goods between different modes of transportation.

Meanwhile, Over 270 railway projects were unveiled in Odisha on Tuesday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, officials said, reported PTI.

Among these are new railway lines, signalling systems, good sheds and a new Vande Bharat Express that will operate between Visakhapatnam and Bhubaneswar, they said.

These were unveiled by the PM virtually from Ahmedabad along with other railway projects across the country, reported PTI.

The new Vande Bharat Express train will operate six days a week, except Saturdays.
This will be the state's third Vande Bharat Express train. The first two operate on the Puri-Howrah and Puri-Rourkela routes.

(With inputs from PTI)