Howrah-Puri Vande Bharat Express train crossed the restored railway track in Odisha's Balasore on Monday hours after the passenger train services were resumed in the district.
He said, "Vande Bharat trains will start covering all the states by June. We have a target to connect 200 cities with Vande Bharat by the middle of next year. Production work is going at a fast pace for the implementation of the project."
Connecting Guwahati with New Jalpaiguri in West Bengal, the Vande Bharat Express, a semi-high-speed train built with indigenously developed technology, would cover a distance of approximately 411 kilometres within a span of 5 hours and 30 minutes.
"Before 2014, Railway's budget for North East was Rs 2,500 crore. Now it is more Rs 10,000 crore, which is 4X growth. All parts of the Northeast will soon be connected via the broad-gauge network. Rs 1 lakh crore is being spent on the same," he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday flagged off Assam's first Vande Bharat Express as a part of the move by Indian Railways to avail joy of travelling for the people of the northeast.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off Assam's first Vande Bharat Express today as a part of the move by Indian Railways to avail joy of travelling for the people of northeast, a government official said on Sunday.
"I am delighted to flag off Assam's first Vande Bharat Express tomorrow, 29th May, at 12 noon. This state-of-the-art train embodies our commitment to providing speed, comfort and enhanced connectivity. It will also boost tourism and enrich socio-economic development," PM Modi tweeted.
According to the release, the state-of-the-art Vande Bharat Express will provide people of the region the means to travel with speed and comfort. It will also boost tourism in the region, it added.
Massive preparations are underway to launch Northeast-bound Vande Bharat Express which will be running between Guwahati railway station in Assam and New Jalpaiguri railway station in West Bengal.