BHUBANESWAR: Odisha got two new Vande Bharat Express trains as Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the Berhampur-Tatanagar and Rourkela-Howrah Vande Bharats along with four other trains at Tatanagar on Sunday.
Attending the event at Berhampur, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said the Berhampur-Tatanagar Vande Bharat Express will connect Odisha’s silk city with the steel city. “Berhampur is a prosperous city famous for its silk sarees, known as Berhampuri patta. This city is also a famous commercial centre of the southern region of the state. There will be rapid growth in tourism and trade sector in both south and western Odisha regions due to the semi-high-speed connectivity,” he said.
The chief minister told mediapersons that he had proposed to the Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for connecting southern part of Odisha with the coastal and northern regions through Vande Bharat. “I am thankful that he has considered my proposal and started the train from Berhampur to Tatanagar,” Majhi said.
Stating that improved communication will lead to development, especially in the tribal areas, Majhi said, Indian Railways has taken several steps to expand and enhance rail connectivity in Odisha. Eight new line projects worth around Rs 20,000 crore have been approved. Under the Amrit Bharat Station scheme, 52 railway stations, including Puri, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack are being modernised and expanded, he said.
The CM said, there is no dearth of funds for the development of Odisha. “The government has changed and the new government is undertaking many welfare and people-centric works before the completion of 100 days. The double-engine government is driving the pace of development,” he claimed.
He took a ride on the train from Berhampur to Bhubaneswar along with school students. He interacted with the children during the journey.
Governor Raghubar Das and Union minister Jual Oram attended the event at Rourkela while deputy chief minister KV Singh Deo and BJP state president Manmohan Samal were present at Bhubaneswar station.
The Berhampur-Tatanagar Vande Bharat will have eight stops in Odisha and cover 587 km in around 9 hours and 10 minutes. With a travel time of around seven hours, the Rourkela-Howrah Vande Bharat will have only three stops.
The PM is scheduled to flag off another Vande Bharat on Raipur-Visakhapatnam route on Monday. It will have seven stops in Odisha.