In poll-bound Himchal, Modi flags off Vande Bharat Express, announces gifts ‘worth several thousand crores’

This was PM Narendra Modi's ninth visit to Himachal Pradesh in the last five years.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flags off Vande Bharat Express train from Una, Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022. Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Union Minister Anurag Thakur are also seen. (Express Photo)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday inaugurated the fourth Vande Bharat Express train in the country from Una railway station in Himachal Pradesh. Following the flag-off, PM Modi dedicated multiple projects in the poll-bound state and said he was pleased to announce gifts “worth several thousand crores” before Dhanteras and Diwali. The projects include the Bulk Drug Park at Haroli, which will be built at a cost of more than Rs 1,900 crore, and the Indian Institute of Information Technology-Una.

Addressing the public, PM Modi said his government was fulfilling the needs of the people unlike the previous Congress governments at the state and Centre, who failed to understand them. He said healthcare will become cheaper in Himachal, adding that the development of rural roadways, availability of water supply and healthcare facilities along with progress in digital infrastructure is the top priority of the government.

This was PM Modi’s ninth visit to Himachal in the last five years.

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Apart from attracting investments, the Bulk drug park is expected to provide employment to more than 20,000 people and reduce dependence on API imports.

The Vande Bharat Express, equipped with advanced state-of-the-art safety features, will run between Una and New Delhi. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, and Union Minister Anurag Thakur were also present when the train was flagged off by PM Modi.

The train that provides a comfortable and faster mode of travel is also considered to help boost tourism in the region. It will run six days a week, except on Wednesdays, with stops at Ambala, Chandigarh, Anandpur Sahib, and Una. It accelerates to 100 km per hour in just 52 seconds.

Himachal Pradesh | PM Modi flags off the Vande Bharat Express train from Una railway station to Delhi, in the presence of CM Jairam Thakur, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw & Union minister & Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur

This is the 4th Vande Bharat train in the country. pic.twitter.com/xSFXI6HzMI

— ANI (@ANI) October 13, 2022

On its first journey today, the train will reach New Delhi this evening via Sri Anandpur Sahib, Chandigarh, and Ambala. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar is expected to board the train from Chandigarh during the inaugural journey. Khattar had on Wednesday said the initiative will also benefit people of Punjab and Haryana who travel by train to work.

Launched in 2019, the new Vande Bharat trains have received more upgrades from high speed to advanced safety measures.

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Last week, two Vande Bharat Express trains were damaged in incidents in consecutive days. One, which runs between Gandhinagar in Gujarat and Mumbai, was damaged after it hit four buffaloes that strayed onto the railway tracks between Vatva and Maninagar stations. In the second incident, a train collided with a cow at the Kanjari Boriyavi station in Gujarat’s Kheda district.

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