PM at the flagging off ceremony of new Amrit Bharat trains and Vande Bharat trains at Ayodhya on December 30, 2023.
Ayodhya: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated the newly built Ayodhya Airport and the Ayodhya Dham Junction Railway Station. From Ayodhya today, Amrit Bharat trains commenced operations as PM flagged off two new Amrit Bharat trains – Darbhanga-Ayodhya-Anand Vihar Terminal Amrit Bharat Express and Malda Town-Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminus (Bengaluru) Amrit Bharat Express.
The Amrit Bharat superfast passenger train has non-air-conditioned coaches. It has locos at both ends for better acceleration and boasts of improved facilities for rail passengers like beautifully designed seats, better luggage racks, mobile charging points with suitable mobile holders, LED lights, CCTV, public information system, among others.
“These trains have been designed keeping in mind the dignity in the life of the poor,” he said.
Modi also virtually flagged off six new Vande Bharat trains from Ayodhya, including the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra-New Delhi Vande Bharat Express from Katra, which is among the first lot of cities in the country to have two Vande Bharat Express trains.
The Ayodhya airport has been named Maharishi Valmiki International Airport and the facade of its terminal building depicts the temple architecture of the upcoming Shri Ram Mandir. In the first phase, the airport can handle 10 lakh passengers annually and after the second phase, it will cater to 60 lakh commuters annually.
Phase 1 of the state-of-the-art airport is developed at a cost of more than Rs 1450 crore. The airport’s terminal building will have an area of 6500 square metres. The interiors of the terminal Building are decorated with local art, paintings and murals depicting the life of Lord Ram. The terminal building of Ayodhya airport is also equipped with various sustainability features like an insulated roofing system, LED lighting, rainwater harvesting, landscaping with fountains, a water treatment plant, sewage treatment plant, solar power plant and many other such features have been provided to meet GRIHA – 5-star ratings.
While inaugurating the redeveloped Ayodhya Railway Station, the Prime Minister said after the completion of the Ayodhya Dham Railway Station, it will start handling 60,000 people instead of the present 10 thousand people.
Phase I of the redeveloped Ayodhya Railway Station – known as Ayodhya Dham Junction Railway Station – is developed at a cost of more than Rs 240 crore. The three-storey modern railway station building is equipped with all modern features like lifts, escalators, food plazas, shops for puja needs, cloakrooms, child care rooms, and waiting halls. The station building will be ‘accessible for all’ and ‘IGBC certified green station building’.
The five other new Vande Bharat trains that the Prime Minister flagged off today were the Amritsar-Delhi Vande Bharat Express; Coimbatore-Bangalore Cantt Vande Bharat Express; Mangalore-Madgaon Vande Bharat Express; Jalna-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express and Ayodhya-Anand Vihar Terminal Vande Bharat Express.
The Prime Minister also dedicated to the nation three railway projects worth Rs 2300 crore to strengthen rail infrastructure in the region. The projects included the Rooma Chakeri-Chanderi third line project; Jaunpur-Tulsi Nagar, Akbarpur-Ayodhya, Sohawal-Patranga and Safdarganj-Rasauli sections of the Jaunpur-Ayodhya-Barabanki doubling project; and doubling and electrification project of the Malhaur-Daliganj railway section.
– global bihari bureau
