BHUBANESWAR: Giving a major push to railways in Odisha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to lay the foundation stone and dedicate several projects worth over Rs 8,000 crore in the state through video conferencing on Thursday. The Prime Minister will also flag off the Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat Express. The train will pass through Khurda, Cuttack, Jajpur, Bhadrak and Balasore districts in Odisha and Paschim Medinipur and Purba Medinipur districts in West Bengal.
The regular run of the semi-high-speed Vande Bharat Express with 16 coaches will commence on May 20. The train will run six days a week except Thursday. It will provide faster, more comfortable and convenient travel experience to the rail users, boost tourism and promote economic development in the region, officials said. Modi will lay the foundation stone for the redevelopment of Puri and Cuttack railway stations. The modern stations will have all amenities providing a world-class experience to rail passengers, the officials added.
He will also dedicate 100 per cent electrification of the rail network in the state along with the doubling of the Sambalpur-Titilagarh rail line, new broad-gauge rail lines between Angul-Sukinda and Bichhupali and Jhartarbha besides Rourkela-Jharsuguda and Manoharpur-Bondamunda third lines. The new lines will cater to the increased traffic demands as a result of rapid industrial development in steel, power and mining sectors in Odisha. The train lines will also help ease the pressure on passenger traffic in these rail sections.
East Coast Railway (ECoR) sources said Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Puri MP Pinaki Mishra and MLA Jayanta Kumar Sarangi are slated to attend the event at Puri railway station.