Dehradun: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami virtually flagged off the Lalkuan-Bandra Superfast train from his official residence in Dehradun on Monday.
"With the blessings of Neem Karoli Baba, today the dream of train movement from Lalkuan to Bandra and the long-pending demand of people have been fulfilled. On this occasion, I congratulate all of you," Dhami told reporters.
"With the operation of this train, people coming from Mumbai to Kumaon region, Haldwani, Almora, Pithoragarh and other nearby areas will find it very convenient. I extend heartfelt gratitude to PM Modi and the Railway Minister for this," he added.
The Chief Minister said that with the start of the Lalkuan-Bandra rail service, devotees coming to visit Baba Kainchi Dham, Jageshwar and other religious places will get a better option of travel.
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"Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we are moving towards the golden age of Indian Railways. Made in India trains like Vande Bharat, as a symbol of self-reliance and modernity, have become a part of the rail network."
The Chief Minister said that with the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the support of the Central Government, the dream of reaching the mountains by train will be fulfilled with the construction of the Rishikesh-Karnprayag rail line.
The survey work on the Tanakpur-Bageshwar rail line has also been completed, and work on it will start soon.
He said that efforts will be made to expand the rail service from Uttarakhand to Kashi, Ayodhya, and other major cities.
"Today, our double-engine government is implementing many schemes to connect the person standing at the last end of the state with the mainstream of development. With the support of the people of the state, the state government is working rapidly in every field to make Uttarakhand the best state of the country."
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MP Ajay Bhatt said that it was a very old demand of the people here that direct rail service from Lalkuan to Mumbai should be smooth, which has been fulfilled today.
"With the operation of this rail service, the people of the entire Kumaon region as well as the visitors and tourists of various religious and tourist places here will also get its benefit."
He said that now three trains are going to Mumbai from Ramnagar, Haldwani and Lalkuan in a week, which will also benefit the tourist areas here.
New train no. 22544 between Lalkuan and Bandra Terminus will depart from Lalkuan on Monday at 07:45 am and will reach Bandra Terminus on Tuesday at 08:30 am via Rudrapur City, Rampur, Moradabad, Ghaziabad, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Mathura, Kota, Vadodara, and Surat. On return, it will depart from Bandra Terminus on Tuesday at 11:00 am and will reach Lalkuan on Wednesday at 13:15 pm.
For the convenience of passengers, this train will be operated with one coach of 2 AC, 2 coaches of 3 AC, 3 coaches of AC economy class, 6 coaches of sleeper class, and 4 coaches of general class. All the coaches in this train are of LHB, which are convenient and suitable for the passengers from a safety point of view.
—ANI