Excelsior Correspondent
SHILLONG (MEGHALAYA), May 27: In a historic event , Prime Minister Narendra Modi today flagged off from here, the first – ever direct train between Kamakhya in Assam to Katra – Vaishno Devi in Jammu & Kashmir which will connect the two pilgrim towns of Devi Peeth of Maa Kamakhya and Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine.
The train was flagged off by the Prime Minister in the presence of Union Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu, Union DoNER Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, Governor of Meghalaya Shanmuganathan, Governor of Assam P.B. Acharya, Chief Minister of Meghalaya Dr Mukul Sangma and Chief Minister of Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal.
The train, which is first of its kind, will cover a distance of 2605 kms in about 53 hours passing the through the States of Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, UP, Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir. The train, to begin with, will operate on weekly basis and will help in not only promoting pilgrim tourism between two most revered “Teertha Sthals” of India, but will also connect J&K directly with Northeast.
On the occasion,Prime Minister, Narendra Modi congratulated the people of Northeast for this new beginning and said, that the new train will also give new boost to tourism. Those who come to pay obeisance at Maa Kamakhya, will also like to visit the other beautiful locations in Northeast which will promote revenue and livelihood.
Two other trains from Jiribam to Silchar and from Bhairavi to Silchar were also flagged off by the Prime Minister at the same function.
Modi recalled that soon after the present Government took over, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh were brought on the rail map of India for the first time and now a broad gauge rail track is being laid across Tripura, Assam and other States. He said, reinforcement of connectivity will reduce isolation of the region and also help in promoting other sectors including power generation and trade.
Prime Minister disclosed that while in the current Budget more than Rs 30,000 Cr has been allocated for development in Northeast, an amount of Rs 10,000 Cr had been earmarked for expansion of rail network. He also suggested promotion of adventure tourism and sports.
Speaking to media persons later, Dr Jitendra Singh expressed happiness for the introduction of new train and said that he is experiencing a double sense of fulfilment because as DoNER Minister, he is also in-charge of the development of Assam and as Member of Parliament, he represents the Udhampur constituency of which Katra happens to be a part. He said, with the pace at which the Railway Network is spreading across the country, a day will come when people will prefer to travel from J&K to Northeast in train rather than by air because that will also not be affected by the hassles of weather uncertainties.
Railway Minister, Suresh Prabhu said that this train Kamakhya to Katra was a long pending demand of the people of this region and informed that the Ministry of Railways will spread broad-gauge track to all the eight States except Sikkim in near future.
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