Modi dedicates two railway projects worth Rs2,900 crores to the nation
Modi said that traders in Asarwa will get the benefit of connecting directly to big industrial centres like Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad
NEW DELHI : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday dedicated two railway projects worth Rs. 2,900 crores to the nation at Asarwa, Ahmedabad.
Addressing the occasion, the Prime Minister said that the entire route is rejuvenated and the meter gauge line from Asarwa to Udaipur via Himmatnagar is converted into a broad gauge. “This part of Gujarat will now be connected directly with the neighboring state of Rajasthan as well as the whole country. The gauge conversion work done between Lunidhar-Jetalsar will also ease rail connectivity in this area and trains originating from here will be able to go to any part of the country."
He added that when the meter gauge line on a route is changed to broad gauge, it brings with it many new possibilities. “With the conversion of the 300 km long rail line from Asarwa to Udaipur into broad gauge, the tribal areas of Gujarat and Rajasthan will be connected to Delhi and North India. The conversion of this railway line to broad gauge has also made an alternate route available for Ahmedabad and Delhi. Now, direct rail connectivity has also been established between the tourist places of Kutch and the tourist places of Udaipur. This will give a big boost to the tourist places of Kutch, Udaipur, Chittorgarh and Nathdwara."
PM Modi further said that traders in the region will also get the benefit of connecting directly to big industrial centres like Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad. “Especially, the tiles industry of Himatnagar will get a lot of help. Similarly, with the conversion of Lunidhar-Jetalsar rail line to broad gauge, the Dhasa-Jetalsar section is now fully converted into broad gauge as well. This rail line passes through Botad, Amreli and Rajkot districts which till now have had limited rail connectivity. With the completion of this line, people of Bhavnagar and Amreli region will now get the benefit of direct connectivity to Somnath and Porbandar."
The Prime Minister said that the route will reduce the distance between Bhavnagar-Veraval from about 470 kilometers to less than 290 kilometers. “It will reduce the travel time from twelve hours to just six and a half hours. Similarly, the distance between Bhavnagar-Porbandar has come down by about 200 kilometers, and the distance between Bhavnagar-Rajkot by about 30 kilometers. The trains running on the broad-gauge route will also accelerate the industrial development of Gujarat while making tourism accessible and connecting the areas which were cut off."
He said that between 2009 and 2014, less than 125 kilometers of railway lines were doubled while between 2014 and 2022, more than five and a half hundred kilometers of railway lines have been doubled. “Only about 60 km of track was electrified in Gujarat between 2009 and 2014. Whereas, between 2014 and 2022, more than 1700 km of track has been electrified."
PM Modi added that railway stations at Ahmedabad, Surat, Udhna, Sabarmati, Somnath and New Bhuj are being upgraded. “The new Vande Bharat Express service was started between Gandhinagar and Mumbai. 12 Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals have also been planned to give a new dimension to the development of Western Railway. The first Gati Shakti Multimodal Cargo Terminal has been commissioned in Vadodara circle. Soon the rest of the terminals will also be ready to provide their services."
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!