Gandhinagar railway station project depicts change in mindset: PM

Gandhinagar July 17 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that the newly-built railway station in Gandhinagar not only depicts change in railway infrastructure, but also in the mindset of the functioning government.

He also said that the modernised station is just a glimpse of the coming days in Indian Railways.

The Prime Minister on Friday virtually inaugurated the around Rs 800 crore project for the redevelopment of Gandhinagar railway station as well as a five-star hotel on top of it.

"The needs of 21st century India cannot be fulfilled by ways and means of 20th century. And for that, there is a need for reforming the railways. We have not taken the Indian Railways as just a service, but considered it as an asset," the Prime Minister said.

"Indian Railways today has improved upon facilities, cleanliness, safety and also the speed of the trains. As soon as the freight corridor (Delhi-Mumbai dedicated freight corridor) is completed, this speed will be further enhanced. Train passengers are experiencing that our trains are cleaner than before. Railway stations are being modernized, while unmanned railway crossings have been abolished," Modi said.

The Prime Minister also flagged off the superfast weekly Gandhinagar-Varanasi train and the Varetha MEMU train. Besides that, Modi also dedicated some rail electrification works as well as broad gauge conversion projects to the public.

Besides the railway projects, the Prime Minister also inaugurated three new attractions in the Gujarat Science City -- an aquatic gallery built at an estimated cost of Rs 264 crore, a global robotic gallery built at a cost of Rs 127 crore and a nature park built at a cost of Rs 14 crore.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, and MoS Railways Darshana Jardosh, among others, were present at the event.