Agartala: Oct 19. Union Railway Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw today said that as many as 60 railway stations of the North East region would be upgraded with world-class facilities for the passengers.
While speaking at the flagging off ceremony of the Agartala-Mumbai (Kamakhya-Lokamanya Tilak) direct train service virtually, the Union Minister said, “The Central government is concerned about the development of North Eastern region and whenever any new project is proposed, North East gets priority. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his nine years of service to the nation physically visited various areas of the North East for more than 60 times. His hard work has accelerated the pace of growth and progress in the North East”.
The Minister also informed the people present at the formal function organized at Agartala Railway Station that a whopping sum of Rs 10 thousand 270 crore had been earmarked for the infrastructure development of 60 railway stations of the North East region.
“All the sixty stations that will be covered under this project will be equipped with world class facilities. Out of 60 stations, infrastructure development works for 37 stations has already started. Earlier there were only eight trains that connected Tripura with rest of the country. Now we have 17 express trains carrying passengers to different parts of the country”.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha, Union Minister of State Social Justice and Empowerment Pratima Bhoumik and Transport Minister Sushanta Chowdhury flagged off the train connecting Agartala with Mumbai. The newly constructed escalator was also opened for the use of passengers at the station.
Speaking at the event, Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha said, “Mumbai is known as the commercial capital of the country. Certainly, a direct railway link between Mumbai and Agartala shall be proven beneficial for the state. A lot of people go Mumbai for various reasons such as treatment, studies and jobs. This train service will make travel to Mumbai affordable for masses”.
