At Thiruvananthapuram Central Station yesterday, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi marked the
start of Kerala’s first Vande Bharat Express between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasargod. The train will pass through 11 districts, including Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Pathanamthitta, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur, and Kasargod.
The PM also dedicated the Kochi Water Metro, the first water metro, to the nation. This is a game-changing transport system because many islands surround Kochi and can attract tourists. The water metro boat service will operate in the backwaters of Kochi, connecting ten islands with the mainland of Kochi, the commercial hub of Kerala.
At the Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, the Prime Minister laid the foundation for other development projects worth more than Rs 3200 crores and dedicated them to the nation. He expressed his gratitude to the Kerala people for their development initiatives. He attributed the international community’s confidence in India to a decisive central government that acts swiftly and decisively for the benefit of the nation, the unprecedented investments made in bolstering and modernising India’s infrastructure, investments made to improve the skill set of the youth, and the central government’s dedication to ease of living and ease of doing business. He continued by saying The prime minister of India has praised the outreach initiatives of the central government, which have helped the Keralites who live overseas.
തിരുവനന്തപുരത്ത് നിന്ന് കാസർഗോഡിലേക്കുള്ള കണക്റ്റിവിറ്റി വർദ്ധിപ്പിക്കുന്ന കേരളത്തിലെ ആദ്യത്തെ വന്ദേ ഭാരത് എക്സ്പ്രസ് ഫ്ലാഗ് ഓഫ് ചെയ്തു. pic.twitter.com/9QXpM5PUSR
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 25, 2023
He said that India’s expanding power is substantially benefiting the Indian diaspora. The country is undergoing a major transformation in the public transport and logistics sectors, and the average rail budget before 2014 has increased fivefold. The reconstruction of three significant railway stations in Kerala has begun, intending to turn it into a centre for multimodal transportation. The Prime Minister also praised India’s evolving rail system for making it easy to operate semi-high-speed trains. All of the Vande Bharat trains up to this point have connected important tourist, religious, and cultural destinations.
The Prime Minister of Kerala announced that North and South Kerala would be connected by the first Vande Bharat train, making it easier to get to holy locations like Kollam, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, and Kannur. The Thiruvananthapuram-Shoranur segment is now being prepared for semi-high-speed trains, and the objective is to offer Made in India solutions that meet regional infrastructure needs. The Kochi Shipyard was commended for the building of ports for the Kochi Water Metro, which will provide an intermodal connection between the bus terminal and the metro network while also making contemporary, affordable modes of transit available to those who live in the nearby islands of Kochi. The Prime Minister believed that the Kochi Water Metro would serve as a national example for other states.
Shri Modi reaffirmed that the nation places high importance on both physical and digital connections. He claimed that initiatives like Thiruvananthapuram’s Digital Science Park would boost Digital India and that 5G developed domestically would create new opportunities in the sector. He also noted that Kerala has a lot to offer both the nation and the rest of the globe and urged everyone to speak out in favour of regional goods and produce. He also noted that “Mann Ki Baat” will air its 100th episode on Sunday in honour of all citizens who have contributed to the country’s growth and in keeping with the ethos of “Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat”. He concluded by emphasizing that everyone must dedicate themselves to creating a Viksit Bharat.
The Prime Minister laid the first stone for several national projects, including the Kochi Water Metro, the Dindigul-Palani-Palakkad stretch, and the redevelopment of Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, and Varkala Sivagiri railway stations. He also dedicated the rail electrification of the Dindigul-Palani-Palakkad stretch, the redevelopment of Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, and Varkala Sivagiri railway stations, and the Digital Science Park in Thiruvananthapuram. The Digital Science Park will include shared resources to aid in creating goods utilising Industry 4.0 Technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics, cyber security, smart materials, etc. The initial investment for Phase 1 of the project is approximately Rs 200 crore, while the approximate total project outlay is Rs 1515 crore.
The Governor of Kerala, Shri Arif Mohammed Khan, the Chief Minister of Kerala, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan, the Union Minister, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, and the Member of Parliament for Thiruvananthapuram, Dr. Shashi Tharoor were all in attendance at the occasion.
