Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday announced a bullet train project for West Bengal, saying the proposed corridor would connect Delhi and Siliguri via Lucknow, Varanasi and Patna.
“A bullet train
project will come to West Bengal. It will connect Delhi and Siliguri via Lucknow, Varanasi and Patna. The journey will take only six hours by bullet train,” Vaishnaw said.
Railway Allocation Increased
The minister said railway funding for West Bengal had increased from Rs 4,000 crore during the UPA government to Rs 14,205 crore under the Narendra Modi government.
“The UPA government had allocated ₹4,000 crore. Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has allocated ₹14,205 crore for the development of railways in West Bengal,” he said.
Vaishnaw alleged that several railway projects were delayed because permissions were not granted by the previous state government.
“Unfortunately, the previous state government did not grant permission for the work. In many cases, all that was required was administrative clearance. Some projects even went to court,” he said.
Metro, Trains And Freight Corridor
The Railway Minister said West Bengal received Vande Bharat Sleeper and Amrit Bharat trains before many other states and added that more projects would be announced in the future.
He also said 45 km of metro lines have been completed in Kolkata under the Modi government.
“In 42 years, only 28 kilometres of metro work had been completed when an opposition government was in power here. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, 45 kilometres of metro lines have been completed in Kolkata,” he said.
Vaishnaw announced that 60 next-generation metro rakes would be introduced in Kolkata over the next five years.
He also said the East-West Dedicated Freight Corridor would connect Dankuni and Surat.
According to the minister, railway electrification has been completed and more trains and stations will be added in the coming years.
MLAs Asked For Development Inputs
Vaishnaw said MLAs had been contacted and asked to suggest development works needed in their constituencies.
“All MLAs have been contacted by phone. They will inform us about the development work required in their respective constituencies,” he said.
Railway Ministry sources said the focus of the proposed projects is to strengthen railway infrastructure in West Bengal.
