PM Modi flags off Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam train, says Railways not shoddy anymore

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday flagged off the 8th Vande Bharat Express of the country that will connect Telangana’s Secunderabad and Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam.

This is the first Vande Bharat of this year and the second to be flagged off in 15 days, PM Modi said lauding the speed at which the work for Vande Bharat is going on in the country. Eight years ago, Indian Railways was a sorry picture of disappointment, PM Modi said. “Whenever there was any proposal for new infrastructure, there were excuses of budget constraints. But our government changed the face of the Indian Railways,” PM Modi said citing the examples of heritage trains, vista dome etc.

The new Vande Bharat train will reduce the time travel between Secunderabad and Visakhapatnam — a distance of 700km– to 8.5 hours from 12 hours.

“This Vande Bharat is the symbol of the new India which wants the best of everything. It is the symbol of the new India that wants to give better facilities to all its citizens. This is a symbol of that India which is heading toward self-reliance after coming out of the colonial mindset,” PM Modi said.

In the last few years, the seven Vande Bharat trains of India completed 23 lakh kilometres of travel which is equivalent to travelling across the earth 58 times, PM Modi said.

“We have seen that time when development was only meant for a specific class. Today’s India promises development and speed to everyone and Vande Bharat is proof of that,” PM Modi said.

List of Vande Bharat Express trains in India:

1. Varanasi-New Delhi Vande Bharat Express

2. Katra-New Delhi Vande Bharat Express

3. Mumbai Central-Gandhinagar Vande Bharat Express

4. New Delhi – Amb Andaura Vande Bharat Express

5. Chennai-Mysuru Vande Bharat Express

6. Bilaspur-Nag Vande Bharat Express

7. Howrah- New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express

8. Secunderabad- Visakhapatnam Vande Bharat Express