Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lay foundation stone and dedicate several railway projects worth over 8,000 crore rupees in Odisha

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone and dedicate several railway projects worth over 8,000 crore rupees in Odisha today at around 12:30 PM via video conferencing. During the event, PM Modi will flag off the Vande Bharat Express between Puri and Howrah. The train will cover 500 kms distance and pass through Khordha, Cuttack, Jajpur, Bhadrak, Balasore districts in Odisha and Paschim Medinipur, Purba Medinipur districts in West Bengal.

The train will provide faster, comfortable and convenient travel experience to the rail users, boost tourism and promote economic development in the region. Regular run of the Howrah-Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat Express will commence from May 20. Official sources said, the train will run six days a week. The train will depart Howrah at 6.10 am and reach Puri at 12.35 pm and in the return direction, it will depart Puri at 1.50



pm and arrive at Howrah at 8.30 pm.

Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of redevelopment of Puri and Cuttack railway stations. The redeveloped stations will have all modern amenities providing world class experience to the rail passengers.

PM Modi will also dedicate 100% electrification of the rail network in Odisha. He will also dedicate the doubling of the Sambalpur-Titlagarh rail line; a new broad gauge rail line between Angul-Sukinda; the third line connecting Manoharpur-Rourkela-Jharsuguda-Jamga and new broad-gauge line between Bichhupali-Jhartarbha. These will cater to the increased traffic demands as a result of rapid industrial development in steel, power & mining sectors in Odisha and will also help ease the pressure on passenger traffic in these rail sections.