Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off a Mahanama Express train between Vadodara in Gujarat and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh on Friday, connecting the two Lok Sabha constituencies he won from in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Mr. Modi flagged off the train through video conferencing in Varanasi.
“Though the Prime Minister is in Varanasi, his heart is still in Vadodara,” Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said here.
The train is being flagged off ahead of the Gujarat Assembly elections later this year.
The Mahanama Express has enhanced passenger amenities such as a redesigned ladder, LED lights, an odour-control system and more charging points for electronic gadgets. It has eight sleeper, two two-tier AC and one first-class AC coaches.
“This will be the first long-distance passenger train originating from Vadodara. All other trains mainly originate from Ahmedabad. So it will be beneficial for people of Vadodara and Surat,” Mr. Goyal said.
Seven-hour gain
He added that the time taken to travel between Vadodara and Varanasi would reduce by seven hours. The Minister said the Railways had increased investment in Gujarat by over 600% to ₹4,000 crore in the past three years.