President Ram Nath Kovind, accompanied by First Lady Savita Devi Kovind, boarded a special train from the Safdarjung railway station on Friday to travel to his native place Kanpur.
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Chairman of the Railway Board Suneet Sharma were present at the station to see him off.
“President Kovind boards a special Presidential train from Safdarjung railway station to Kanpur. The train will make two stop-overs, at Jhinjhak and Rura of Kanpur Dehat, and will reach Kanpur Central in the evening,” the official handle of the Rashtrapati Bhavan tweeted.
The two stop-overs, at Jhinjhak and Rura of Kanpur Dehat, have been organised to facilitate Mr. Kovind’s interaction with his old acquaintances from his school days, a statement from Rashtrapati Bhavan said.
“On June 28, the President will board the train at Kanpur Central railway station to reach Lucknow for his two-day visit to the State capital. On June 29, he will return to New Delhi on a special flight,” a statement said.
Kalam’s travel
After a gap of 15 years, President Kovind has revived the tradition of the Head of State travelling in presidential saloon. The last time an incumbent President used a presidential saloon was in 2006 when APJ Abdul Kalam travelled from Delhi to Dehradun to attend a passing out parade of cadets at the Indian Military Academy (IMA).
Beginning with the first President of India, Rajendra Prasad, train travel used to be a common feature for the first citizens until the late 70s. However, the tailor made air-conditioned two-coach presidential saloon got decommissioned in 2008 as train travel came down substantially.
