Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat Express on Thursday from the pilgrimage town of Odisha, Puri through the virtual mode.
PM Modi also dedicated rail projects worth more than Rs 8200 crore in Odisha and laid the foundation stone for redevelopment of Puri and Cuttack railway stations.
While addressing Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat train launch event, PM Modi said, Vande Bharat Express is the symbol of modern India and aspirational Indians. This will further strengthen the unity of India.
The PM further stated that Odisha is receiving substantial support for disaster management, with an allocation of Rs 8,000 crore for NDRF.
Thanking PM Modi on the occasion, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today suggested several new projects for Odisha including Vande Bharat Express train between Puri and Rourkela connecting Sambalpur and another connecting Bhubaneswar and Hyderabad.
The CM also requested for Puri-Konark New Rail Line and early introduction of passenger Trains in both Angul-Sukinda line and Haridaspur-Paradip line to meet the aspirations of the people of these districts.
Odisha will fund 50% of project cost and provide land free of cost for the same, said Naveen.
The train will cover the 500 km distance between Howrah and Puri in around six and a half hours.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan graced the programme at Puri station. However, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik graced the programme through video conferencing.
This is the second Vande Bharat Express for West Bengal and first train for Odisha.
The train which will run six days a week except Thursdays, will stop at Kharagpur, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur Keonjhar Road, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Khordha Road.
The Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat Express train, with 16 coaches will depart Howrah at 6.10 am and reach Puri at 12.35 pm. In the return direction, it will leave Puri at 1.50 pm and arrive at Howrah at 8.30 pm.