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Union Minister for Home Affairs, Shri Amit Shah flagged off the New Delhi-Katra ‘Vande Bharat’ Express, in New Delhi on October 3 . This is the second ‘Vande Bharat’ express after the New Delhi – Varanasi semi-high speed train flagged off by Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi in February this year. The coaches of this train are indigenously manufactured at the Chennai Rail coach factory.
Shri Shah congratulated the Ministry of Railways for giving a big gift to the people of the country, in this Navratras. He said that religious tourism has a very important role in the development and progress of Jammu-Kashmir. Every citizen of India has a desire to visit Vaishnodevi Temple at least once in the lifetime. From the day he took charge, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi put forward a vision to connect places of religious interest across the country with a safe, efficient and comfortable high-speed railway network. A number of steps have already been taken by the government to facilitate pilgrims to visit the places of their religious interest. The ‘Vande Bharat’ express is one big step in that direction while keeping in mind speed, scale and service as the prime priority, he said.
Shri Shah said that PM visualises Railways as the lifeline to achieve his vision of a $5 trillion economy. ‘Vande Bharat’ is a hallmark of the success of ‘Make in India’ and the potential that it holds in giving a boost to the economy. This is evident with the speed at which the development and modernisation of railways is taking place under Shri Modi’s leadership, he added. Home Minister said, “Railways must keep this fast paced development profile going on in full steam and achieve Prime Minister’s vision of a $5 trillion economy, in the same way as Railways played a major role in the success of Bapu’s freedom struggle”.