Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday flagged off eight trains connecting Kevadiya in Gujarat, where the Statue of Unity is located, to different regions of the country.
Mr. Modi said this was perhaps the first time in the history of the Railways that so many trains were flagged off for one destination.
The Prime Minister said Kevadiya was no longer a small place in a remote area in Gujarat but was emerging as one of the biggest tourist destinations in the world. More tourists visit the Statue of Unity than the Statue of Liberty in the U.S, he said. “More than 50 lakh visitors have come to see the Statue of Unity after it was dedicated to the nation.”
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Mr. Modi said the new trains connecting Kevadiya to Chennai, Varanasi, Rewa, Dadar and Delhi; the MEMU service between Kevadiya and Pratapnagar; the broad gauging of the Dabhoi-Chandod section and the new line between Chandod and Kevadiya would help in the development of the region. “This will benefit both the tourists and local Adivasis as this will bring new avenues of self-employment and employment,” he said.
The Prime Minister also inaugurated the Dabhoi-Chandod gauge converted broad gauge railway line, the Chandod-Kevadiya new broad gauge railway line, the newly electrified Pratapnagar-Kevadiya section and the new station buildings of Dabhoi, Chandod and Kevadiya.
Mr. Modi paid tributes to former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK founder M.G. Ramachandran on his birth anniversary, as he noted that one of the trains would connect Kevadiya to Chennai.
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Speaking on the development of railway infrastructure, the Prime Minister said unlike in the past when the focus was limited to keeping the existing infrastructure running and less attention was given to new ways of thinking and technology, work has been done in the recent years on comprehensive transformation of the entire railway system.