File photo: PM Modi
NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi is scheduled to flag off 13 trains next week, including the country’s first Vande Bharat sleeper train. Ten of these will be flagged off from poll-bound West Bengal and the remaining three from Assam, which is also going to the polls.TOI has learnt that on Jan 17, Modi will flag off Vande Bharat sleeper train from Howrah to Guwahati and six Amrit Bharat trains from Malda, where he will address a public event as well. The next day, he is scheduled to flag off two Amrit Bharat trains from Assam and three more from West Bengal.Officials said this is the first time in recent years that so many trains will be flagged off from West Bengal in such a short span of time. “The Amrit Bharat trains from West Bengal will be for all parts of the country — north, south and west. Amrit Bharat trains are the most affordable for the poor and the middle class, offering best comforts to passengers,” said an official.As per the plan, one Amrit Bharat train will operate between Guwahati and Rohtak (Haryana) and another between Dibrugarh and Lucknow. The Amrit Bharat trains from West Bengal are New Jalpaiguri-Nagercoil, New Jalpaiguri-Tiruchirappalli , Alipurduar-Bengaluru, Alipurduar-Panvel, Balurghat-Bengaluru, Radhikapur-Bengaluru, Santragachi (Kolkata)-Tambaram, Howrah-Anand Vihar (Delhi) and Sealdah-Banaras. “The focus is on running more Amrit Bharat trains as these cater to a large share of long-distance passengers. The zonal railways will soon notify the fares for each service,” said a railway official.So many modern trains being flagged off from West Bengal is being seen as a message that Centre is keen to improve transport infrastructure in the state.
