New Delhi: With the beginning of the second edition of the Kashi Tamil Sangamam, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off a new train between Banaras and Kanyakumari (Kashi Tamil Sangamam Weekly Express) to link the two important religious sites of the country on Monday.
Besides this, the PM will flag off the second Varanasi-New Delhi Vande Bharat train during his visit to temple town.
PM Modi will visit his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi on Sunday and Monday, December 17 and 18.
The first Vande Bharat Express between New Delhi and Varanasi was launched on February 15, 2019.
The second Vande Bharat train will be consisting of 8 coaches, while the first one is a 16-coach train running with maximum occupancy since its inauguration. Till now, only the Trivandrum-Kasaragod route has two Vande Bharat trains, said an official in the Railways.
The newly introduced Banaras-Kanyakumari Express service will benefit the large number of pilgrims from Tamil Nadu visiting Kashi. An exclusive regular train service from Kanyakumari to Varanasi will strengthen the shared heritage and deepen the people-to-people bond between the regions.
This train service will also benefit pilgrims visiting the holy cities of Prayagraj, Banaras, Madurai, Thanjavur, Kumbakonam, Chidambaram and Kanchipuram.
Modi will also launch several rail projects from Varanasi railway station, including the Dohrighat-Mau MEMU train and a pair of Long Haul goods trains at the newly-inaugurated Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC). The event will also feature the flagging off of the 10,000th locomotive produced by Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW), the official said.
Other railway projects which will be inaugurated include Ballia-Ghazipur City rail line doubling project; Indara-Dohrighat rail line gauge conversion project, among others.
The second edition of Kashi Tamil Sangamam is to be held from December 17 to 30 in Varanasi.
Published 17 December 2023, 11:21 IST