Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday flagged off Kerala's first Vande Bharat Express train from Thiruvananthapuram Central Station. The high-speed train will run between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasargod. As indicated by Prime Minister's Office, the Vande Bharat train will cover 11 regions to be specifically Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Pathanamthitta, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasargod.
Vande Bharat Express is a natively produced, semi-fast and self-moved train set. The train has cutting-edge amenities for passengers, making travel faster, more comfortable, and more convenient for passengers.
On April 25, during his trip to Kerala, Prime Minister Modi will inaugurate a number of projects worth more than Rs 3,200 crore and lay the foundation stone for them.
PM Modi will inaugurate the Kochi Water Metro, one of kind task interfaces 10 islands around Kochi through battery-operated electric hybrid boats for seamless connectivity with the city.
The Prime Minister will also dedicate the rail electrification of the Dindigul-Palani-Palakkad section, in addition to the Kochi Water Metro.
During the occasion, PM Modi will lay the foundation of different rail projects including the redevelopment of Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Varkala Sivagiri rail line stations; extensive improvement of the Thiruvananthapuram region, including Nemon and Kochuveli, as well as an increase in the sectional speed of the Thiruvananthapuram-Shoranur section.
The Prime Minister will further lay the foundation stone of the Digital Science Park in Thiruvananthapuram.
Digital Science Park is intended to serve as a major research facility for the development of digital products and services by business and industry units working with academic institutions.
According to the PMO's statement, the Digital Science Park will house common facilities as a third-generation Science Park to support the development of products based on Industry 4.0 technologies like AI, Data Analytics, Cyber Security, and Smart Materials.
High-end applied research by industries and the co-development of products with universities will be supported by the state-of-the-art basic infrastructure. The total cost of the project has been estimated to be approximately Rs 1,515 crore, with the initial investment for Phase 1 being approximately Rs 200 crore.