Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday flagged off eight new trains connecting Gujarat’s Kevadia to various other destinations pan India, which will increase commerce, tourism and create employment.
The new trains hyperlink Kevadia to Varanasi, Dadar, Ahmedabad, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Rewa, Chennai and Pratapnagar. Kevadiya is property to the ‘Statue of Unity’ devoted to Vallabhbhai Patel and a increasing worldwide tourist spot.
“This is a beautiful picture of ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’. It is the first time in the history of Indian Railways (IR) that so many trains from different locations of the country started their run to the same destination,” Modi mentioned, flagging off the trains through video-conferencing.
One of the trains flagged off for Kevadia connects Kevadia to the Puratchi Thalaivar Dr MG Ramachandran Central Railway Station in Chennai. “It is a pleasant coincidence that today is the birth anniversary of MGR. His life was dedicated to the service of the poor,” Modi mentioned, in an outreach to the state which has Assembly polls this year.
Modi also inaugurated various other railway projects in Kevadia, such as the Dabhoi-Chandid broad gauge rail line, Chandod-Kevadita new broad gauge rail line, Pratapnagar-Kevadiya newly electrified section. The `811 crore and 50 km lengthy Dabhoi–Chandod–Kevadiya section has been commissioned by converting the 18 km lengthy Dabhoi–Chandod narrow gauge section to broad gauge and additional extension of the new 32 km broad gauge railway line from Chandod to Kevadiya.
Land acquisition for the new line project was completed as late as July 2020 and the project has been commissioned only in 5 months. It has a total of seven stations with 3 key crossing stations and 4 minor halt stations along with eight key bridges, 79 minor bridges, nine road overbridges and 31 roads beneath bridges.
The sectional speed amongst Pratapnagar-Dabhoi has been raised from 75 kmph to 110 kmph in 75 days and the Dabhoi–Kevadiya section has been constructed with 110 kmph. The speed of the complete section from Pratapnagar–Kevadiya will be additional enhanced to 130 kmph.
Other projects which had been inaugurated are the new station buildings of Dabhoi Junction, Chandod and Kevadiya which have been created incorporating contemporary passenger amenities, engineering strategies and gear.
Kevadiya station is India’s very first railway station with a Green Building Certification considering that the inception of building. The atmosphere-friendly functions contain LED lights and star rated branded electrical appliances which will save electrical energy, as effectively as water management by way of rainwater harvesting, sewage remedy plant, eco-waterless urinals and drip irrigation.