Last Updated: December 30, 2022, 12:38 PM IST
PM Modi attended Bengal programmes via video conferencing (Image: Twitter)
The Prime Minister rushed to Ahmedabad early in the morning after his mother passed away
Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually flagged off the Vande Bharat express connecting Howrah and New Jalpaiguri on Friday. The Prime Minister sought an ‘apology’ from the people of West Bengal for not being able to attend the scheduled event in person due to ‘personal reasons’.
Speaking at the event, PM Modi said, “I was supposed to come to West Bengal but due to personal reasons, I could not come there. I seek apologies from the people of Bengal.”
In the wake of the demise of his mother Heeraben Modi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined the programmes in West Bengal via video conferencing.
Prime Minister also highlighted work done by the Central government for the betterment of Railways and said: “Central govt is making record investment to modernise Indian Railways. Now modern trains like Vande Bharat express, Tejas express, and Humsafar express are being made in India. In the next 8 years, we’ll see railways on a new journey of modernisation.”
The seventh Vande Bharat express, flagged off by the Prime Minister, started its journey at 11.45 am from platform number 22 of Howrah Station to travel to New Jalpaiguri, the gateway to the northeast.
The blue-and-white train, which covers a distance of 564 km in 7.45 hours, will save three hours of travel time compared to other trains on the route, officials said. It will have three stoppages at Barsoi, Malda and Bolpur.
The Vande Bharat express with modern passenger amenities is likely to be preferred both by regular passengers, tea industry executives and tourists travelling to the Himalayas in North Bengal and Sikkim.
The state-of-the-art train has 16 coaches, including two for drivers
The event was also attended by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Governor C V Ananda Bose and Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Earlier, Banerjee, while speaking on the occasion, condoled the demise of Modi’s mother Hiraben. “Your mother is also our mother,” she said.
The CM also said work on four out of the five railway projects that Modi will launch on Friday were started during her tenure as railway minister.
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