'Vande Bharat' Trains To Connect Northeast With National Mainstream: PM Modi

Amid all the major issues on impetus by Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed, ranging from empowering small farmers to issues like infrastructure and women safety, but the most important of all was connectivity with 'special zones for far-fetched places including Northeast, Kashmir, and others.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday during his 75^th Independence Day speech announced that 75 ''Vande Bharat'' trains will connect different parts of the country in 75 weeks to mark the ongoing ''Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav''.

Addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the occasion of 75th Independence Day, he said it is unprecedented the way the UDAN scheme was connecting far-flung areas of the country and the speed at which new airports are being built.

PM Modi quoted, "The country has resolved that 75 Vande Bharat trains will be connecting every corner of the country in 75 weeks of Amrit Mahotsav of Independence."

 The PM also talked about boosting rail connectivity in the northeast region, saying it is significant for the entire country.

According to the PM, Vande Bharat, the indigenous semi-high speed train set is being given a boost, with the Railways gearing to roll out at least 10 of them, linking around 40 cities, by August 2022 to commemorate 75 years of Independence.

It may be mentioned that, Hyderabad-based engineering firm Medha, which in February secured the contract to supply the electrical systems for 44 Vande Bharat trains, has now been told to advance its production plan, so that at least two prototypes can be rolled out by next March following all trials.

"Today, we are in the process of writing a new history as far as connectivity to the northeast is concerned. This connectivity is both between hearts and infrastructure."

"Very soon the job of connecting the capital cities of the northeastern states by rail will be completed," PM Modi said.

It may further be noted that on this day, except Sikkim, all northeastern states are connected to the rail network. The capital cities of Assam, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh are already connected, while they work to link the capital cities of Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Meghalaya is underway.

Meanwhile, keeping Coronavirus-Pandemic the situation in mind, officials said that connectivity to the NE region will surely be on progress within 2024.