PM unveils over 270 railway projects in Odisha, flags off 3rd Vande Bharat Express for state

Bhubaneshwar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday virtually unveiled over 270 railway projects in Odisha and flagged off the state’s third Vande Bharat Express train.

The new railway projects included signalling systems, good sheds and a new Vande Bharat Express that will operate between Visakhapatnam and Bhubaneswar, officials said.

These were unveiled by the PM virtually from Ahmedabad along with other railway projects across the country.

Modi flagged off the state’s third new Vande Bharat Express train which will run six days a week, except on Saturdays. The state has two Vande Bharat Express trains – Puri-Howrah and Puri-Rourkela route.

The third Vande Bharat express train in Odisha will have stoppages at Bhubaneswar, Khurda Road and Berhampur in Odisha and Palasa, Srikakulam Road and Vizianagaram in Andhra Pradesh.

The PM also inaugurated the Rs 234 crore Haridaspur-Byree section (16.8 km) of the Bhadrak-Nergundi third line, the Rs 131-crore Damanjodi-Baiguda section (14.6 km) of the Korapur-Raigada doubling project, Rs 167-crore Singapur Road-Rayagada section (9.2 km) of the Vijianagam-Titlagarh third line and the Rs 123-crore Similiguda-Araku-Gorapur (21.6 km) section of the Kotavlasa-Koraput doubling project.

Modi also inaugurated 162 electronic interlocking systems, 41 ‘One Station One Product’ (OSOP) stalls, 50 solar-powered stations, five goods sheds, four auto signalling systems, a Gati Shakti terminal, a Jan Ausadhi Kendra and a rail coach restaurant.