Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday virtually flagged off nine Vande Bharat trains connecting religious and tourist destinations across 11 states -- Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, West Bengal, Kerala, Odisha, Jharkhand and Gujarat to boost connectivity. Speaking on the occasion, he said that these trains show the new spirit and excitement of new India. He said the infrastructural development has matched the "aspirations" of 140 crore Indians.
The new trains that have been launched -- Udaipur - Jaipur Vande Bharat Express, Tirunelveli-Madurai - Chennai Vande Bharat Express, Hyderabad - Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express, Vijayawada - Chennai (via Renigunta) Vande Bharat Express, Patna - Howrah Vande Bharat Express, Kasaragod - Thiruvananthapuram Vande Bharat Express, Rourkela - Bhubaneswar - Puri Vande Bharat Express, Ranchi - Howrah Vande Bharat Express and Jamnagar-Ahmedabad Vande Bharat Express, according to a release from the Prime Minister's Office.
Calling the trains "new energy" of India, he said, "Speed, the scale of infrastructure development is matching aspirations of 140 crore Indians...Today people of Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, West Bengal, Kerala, Odisha, Jharkhand and Gujarat will get the facility of Vande Bharat Express trains. These new Vande Bharat Express trains depict the new energy of the country."
The Prime Minister informed that 25 Vande Bharat trains are already running, and now nine more will be added to them. "The popularity of Vande Bharat trains is constantly rising. Over 1,11,00,000 passengers have already travelled on them," he said.
He added that these nine Vande Bharat Express trains will significantly improve connectivity as well as boost tourism across India. He also highlighted how the stations are being renovated under 'Azadi Ka Amrit Kaal'.
"We all know that there are several railway stations which have not been developed for the past several years... Works to develop these stations are underway... All the stations which will be developed in the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Kaal' will be called 'Amrit Bharat Stations..." the Prime Minister said.
Commending the passage of Women's Reservation Bill in parliament, PM Modi said. "World has hailed our women-led development; to advance this vision govt brought Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam." He also mentioned that the success of India's Moon mission Chandrayaan-3 has given confidence that Indian has "power of democracy, demography, diversity".
"All Indians proud of new India's accomplishments; Common person's expectations have reached sky high due to success of Chandrayaan-3," he said.