THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday flagged off Kerala's first Vande Bharat express train at the Thiruvananthapuram Central Railway Station.
The PM also visited a coach ahead of the flag off and interacted with the travellers who are part of the first service of the high-speed train. The selected travellers in these coaches included students of city schools. Some students greeted the PM by presenting their paintings, including that of the Vande Bhart train. The PM had a friendly chat with the students inquiring about the details of the paintings. The children who interacted with the PM included those of the Kendriya Vidyalaya and Sree Chitra Poor Home. About 1000 students will have a free ride on the train between different stations in the inaugural run.
The PM was accompanied by Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw and Shashi Tharoor MP. The PM wore a traditional mundu and shirt for the colourful function at the central station. The inaugural service will have 14 stops.
The Prime Minister flagged off the train at platform number 1 at 11.10 am. The railway also arranged cultural programmes inside the venue. Besides students, the travellers on the inaugural service included BJP workers, actors, spiritual leaders and media persons. The inaugural train will stop at 14 stations and will end at Kasaragod. The regular service from Kasaragod starts on Wednesday.
Earlier, the governor and CM welcomed the PM who landed in a special aircraft at the technical area of the Air Force here. Large number of people had gathered on the road from the airport to the central railway station. A large number of people had gathered on the road from the airport to the central railway station. The PM's journey to the railway station was more like a roadshow as the Prime Minister waved at the large gathering of party workers and supporters on the roadside.
The PM also inaugurated a slew of development projects at the Central Stadium. They include various railway development projects worth Rs 1900 crore. Among the projects are the development of the Kochuveli and Nemom stations to become train originating stations, in order to decongest Thiruvananthapuram Central.
The inaugural train will have stoppages at Kollam, Kayamkulam, Chengannur, Thiruvalla, Kottayam, Chalakudy, Thrissur, Shornur, Tirur, Kozhikode, Thalassery, Kannur, Payyannur and Kasaragod.