New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a two-day visit to his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi. On the first day, he launched a slew of development and infrastructure projects in the city including the launch of the Kanyakumari-Varanasi Tamil Sangamam train and multi-language and braille translations of Thirukkural, Manimekalai and other classic Tamil literature. The Prime Minister also participated in the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra and took a walkthrough of the stall and visited the Viksit Bharat Yatra Van and Quiz event where he interacted with beneficiaries of various government schemes.
The city will witness another set of inaugurations on the second day of PM Modi’s visit. He will flag off the second Vande Bharat train connection between Varanasi and New Delhi. He will also launch the New Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction to New Bhaupur Junction segment of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) giving a boost to the logistics sector.
After the flagging off, the train will subsequently pass through Prayagraj, Kanpur Central, Itawa, Tundla and Aligarh before reaching New Delhi as per the scheduled timings.
The regular operation of the Vande Bharat Express is scheduled to commence on December 20, 2023. Departing from Varanasi at 6:00 AM, the train will reach Prayagraj at 07:34 AM, Kanpur Central at 09:30 AM and finally, New Delhi at 2:05 PM.
The return journey will see the train departing from New Delhi at 3:00 PM, reaching Kanpur Central at 7:12 PM, Prayagraj at 9:15 PM and concluding its journey in Varanasi at 11:05 PM.
PM Modi will also launch the new Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction to New Bhaupur Junction of the eastern DFC today. This section of the corridor has been built for ₹10,903 crore and is situated on the Delhi-Howrah rail route, passing through districts such as Chandauli, Mirzapur, Prayagraj, Kaushambi, Fatehpur, Kanpur Nagar and Kanpur Dehat in Uttar Pradesh.
The corridor connects the crucial coal fields of West Bengal and Jharkhand including the Eastern Coalfields Limited, Central Coalfields Limited, Bharat Coking Coal Limited to the power plants in north India.
