Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off India’s sixth Vande Bharat Express on Sunday from Nagpur. The semi-high-speed train which will run between Nagpur (Maharashtra) to Bilaspur (Chattisgarh) is the first Vande Bharat Express in central India.
Modi arrived at the Nagpur airport early at 9.35am where he was received by Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde, his deputy Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, and union minister Nitin Gadkari.
From there, Modi, along with all the ministers, including union minister of state for railway Raosaheb Danve and state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule, proceeded straight to the Nagpur railway station and flagged off the Nagpur-Bilaspur Vande Bharat Express.
In October, Maharashtra got its Vande Bharat Express train on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route. By August next year, 75 Vande Bharat trains are expected to be inaugurated a big boost for the country’s transportation network.
It was the first programme of the Prime Minister in Nagpur along with several others he is scheduled for the rest of the day, including the inauguration of Phase 1 of the Nagpur-Mumbai Expressway.
After flagging off the Vande Bharat Express, PM Modi took a Metro ride from Freedom Park to Khapri in Nagpur to dedicate ‘Nagpur Metro Phase I’ to the nation.
He will also flag off two metro trains – from Khapri to Automotive Square (Orange Line) and from Prajapati Nagar to Lokmanya Nagar (Aqua line) – at Khapri Metro Station.
Later in the day, Prime Minister Modi will dedicate AIIMS Nagpur to the nation and lay the foundation stone of rail projects.
Further, In Goa, Modi is set to inaugurate the Mopa international airport in the evening.