Puri-Howrah run starts, PM Modi calls Vande Bharat trains ‘symbol of aspirational India’

On the occasion, he also laid the foundation stone for redevelopment of Cuttack and Puri stations and dedicated railway projects worth more than Rs 8,000 crore to Odisha.

Underlining that India has maintained the speed of its development despite extremely adverse circumstances in recent times, Modi credited every state for their participation in this journey. He said, “New India is creating technology indigenously and taking that to every corner of the country. Technologies such as 5G or vaccines during pandemic — these innovations never remained limited to one state or city but were taken across the country in an equal manner.”

Emphasising the need to strengthen India’s unity and integrity, Modi said the nation’s collective capabilities can reach its pinnacle if the country remains united. “Vande Bharat Express is a reflection of this belief…it is becoming the engine of development for the country while forwarding the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’. The Indian Railways connects and weaves everyone together in a thread and the Vande Bharat Express will move forward with the same idea and thought,” he said.

On development since 2014, he said only 20 km of railway tracks were laid annually in Odisha before that, while tracks of 120 km length were laid in just one year — in 2022-23.

He said India’s achievements in the field of infrastructure are the subject of studies today. “When Rs 10 lakh crore is allocated toward infrastructure, it creates lakhs of jobs. Besides, railway and highway connectivity goes beyond ease of travel and connects farmers with new markets, tourists with new attractions, and students with their preferred colleges.”

He also mentioned the Union government’s initiatives such as PM Garib Kalyan scheme, which provides free ration to 80 crore people, and schemes such as Ayushman Bharat, Ujjwala Yojana, Jal Jeevan Mission and PM Awas Yojana. “Today, the poor are getting all these basic facilities for which earlier they had to wait for years,” he said.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who also joined the event virtually, requested two more Vande Bharat trains between Puri and Rourkela, connecting Sambalpur, and another between Bhubaneswar and Hyderabad for quicker movement of passengers.

As the state government has proposed to develop an international airport in Puri, Patnaik sought Modi’s cooperation in this regard and hoped that the airport will be ready in the next three or four years.

Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, BJP leader from the state, were present at Puri station on the occasion.

Vaishnaw, elected to Rajya Sabha from Odisha, said the Railways is working on Vande Sleeper and Vande Metro trains, which are set to see the light of the day in coming years. He said a second Vande Bharat Express in Odisha is likely to run on Puri-Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Angul-Rourkela route.