New Delhi: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday flagged off the Dohrighat-Aunrihar passenger train, which will be extended to Varanasi soon, in a significant step towards enhancing rail connectivity and passenger convenience in the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh.
Addressing the gathering via video conferencing, the minister also announced that, in response to a long-standing demand for better connectivity to Delhi from the Purvanchal region, a new express train will soon be introduced through the northern Ganga corridor.
The train will connect Chhapra, Ballia, Mau, Azamgarh, Shahganj, Jaunpur, Sultanpur, Lucknow, Kanpur, Aligarh, Ghaziabad, and Anand Vihar.
Vaishnaw said that extending the Dohrighat-Aunrihar passenger service to Varanasi will provide direct connectivity to the cultural and commercial hub, benefiting daily commuters, students, traders, and pilgrims, while further strengthening rail access across eastern Uttar Pradesh.
The train will operate with an eight-coach rake, comprising passenger coaches designed to provide comfortable, convenient travel for daily commuters and other passengers on the route.
Vaishnaw noted that the Indara-Dohrighat metre gauge line was built in 1904, more than 100 years ago, but its gauge conversion had to wait until PM Modi took office.
He said that after 2014, many long-pending railway projects across the country were taken up, including gauge conversion, doubling, and several incomplete projects.
The Indara-Dohrighat line was converted to broad gauge, bringing new rail facilities to eastern Uttar Pradesh.
The minister highlighted that the railway budget allocation for Uttar Pradesh in 2014 stood at merely Rs 1,109 crore.
After 2014, the allocation grew to approximately Rs 20,012 crore.
He added that railway projects worth around Rs 1.2 lakh crore are currently underway across Uttar Pradesh, a scale of railway development unprecedented in the state’s history.
Vaishnaw outlined a series of major railway infrastructure projects progressing in Uttar Pradesh.
He said that south of the Ganga, a major four-line corridor had been developed along the Prayagraj-Kanpur-Agra-Delhi route.
Similarly, a massive four-line railway corridor is being developed north of the Ganga, connecting Delhi via Ghaziabad, Moradabad, Bareilly, Sitapur, Gonda, and Gorakhpur towards Bihar and the Northeast.
Vaishnaw also informed that the old Malviya Bridge at Varanasi is ageing, and therefore, a new bridge is being constructed alongside it, carrying four railway lines on the lower deck and a six-lane highway above.
The under-construction bridge is located near Namo Ghat over the Ganga.
Vaishnaw said these projects would completely transform Uttar Pradesh’s railway map and enable the operation of at least 500 new trains.
(IANS)
