United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday jointly flagged off 12 new trains in Uttar Pradesh. The routes of seven existing trains have also been extended.
Ms. Sonia Gandhi and Ms. Banerjee flagged off the trains through videoconferencing at Kanpur railway station here.
Claiming that addition of a dozen new trains would prove to be a boon for Uttar Pradesh, Ms. Sonia Gandhi said later at a huge public rally adjacent to the railway station that “it was after a long gap that the railway ministry had done so much in one go for this state”.
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She said the central government would be only too keen to do much more for the State.
“Our government at the centre in general and the Indian Railways in particular are committed to fulfilling the aspirations of the people of Uttar Pradesh,” she said.
“The Centre was always ready to play its role in pushing development projects for the states, but this cannot be achieved without the active support of the States,” she maintained.
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The new trains are Kanpur-New Delhi Shatabdi Express, Lucknow-New Delhi Duronto, Allahabad-New Delhi Duronto, Gorakhpur-Lokmanya Tilak Terminal Express, Varanasi-Jammu Tawi Superfast, Lucknow-Yashwantpur Express, Agra-Lucknow Intercity, Mathura-Kasganj Passenger, Bhopal-Pratapgarh Express, Gorakhpur-Nainital Express, Gorakhpur-Noutha Passenger and Chapra-Mathura Express.