Making Indian Railways modern, safe and convenient is the top priority of the government, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated two additional railway lines connecting Thane and Diva in Maharashtra via video conferencing on Friday. He also flagged off two suburban trains of the Mumbai Suburban Railway.
Speaking at the occasion, Prime Minister said, “Making Railways modern, safe and convenient is among the top priority of our government. Even COVID could not deviate us from our commitment to this cause. The Railways has made new records in freight transportation in last two years.”
Congratulating Mumbaikar on the launch of the newly built 5th and 6th rail line between Thane-Diva, PM Modi said the new lines will increase ease of living and add momentum to the vibrant life of Mumbai.
Referring to Ahmedabad-Mumbai High-Speed Railway, Prime Minister said the project will strengthen Mumbai’s potential and identity as the “City of Dreams”. He said the government’s priority is to complete the project at a fast pace.
“In the past, infrastructure projects used to hang for years due to the lack of coordination between planning and execution. It is not possible to build the infrastructure of 21st century India with this approach. That is why we have made PM Gatishakti National Masterplan. For years, there had been a concept not to invest in the resources being used by the poor and middle class. This led to a lack of development in India’s public transport. But now India is moving ahead leaving behind old ideologies,” stated Prime Minister Modi.
He said the modern railway stations of Gandhinagar and Bhopal are becoming the identity of the railways.
“Today more than 6,000 railway stations have been connected with Wi-Fi facility. Vande Bharat trains are offering speed and modern convenience. 400 new Vande Bharat trains will start serving the country in the coming years,” PM Modi said.
According to Prime Minister’s Office, the two additional railway lines connecting Thane and Diva have been built at the approx cost of Rs 620 crore and features 1.4 km long rail flyover, three major bridges and 21 minor bridges. These lines will significantly remove the interference of long distance train’s traffic with suburban train’s traffic in Mumbai. These lines will also enable the introduction of 36 new suburban trains in the city.
