The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi flagged off Vande Bharat Express connecting Nagpur and Bilaspur from platform number 1 of the Nagpur Railway Station today. He also laid the foundation stone and dedicated to the nation various projects worth more than Rs 75,000 crores in Maharashtra today, including national rail projects worth more than Rs 1500 crores.

Vande Bharat

Indian Railways are already running 5 Vande Bharat Express Trains. This will be the 6^th Vande Bharat Express and it will cover the distance of 412 km between Nagpur and Bilaspur in 5 hours 20 minutes at an average speed of 77.25 kmph.  It will halt at Raipur in between Nagpur and Bilaspur and run 6 days a week, except Saturday. Nagpur, the winter capital of the state of Maharashtra will be connected to Raipur, the capital of Chhatisgarh and Bilaspur, an important city of Chhatisgarh by this Vande Bharat Express.

Other Rail Projects

At a public function in Nagpur, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for redevelopment of Nagpur Railway Station and Ajni Railway Station. Prime Minister dedicated Government Maintenance Depot, Ajni (Nagpur) and Kohli-Narkher Section of Nagpur- Itarsi Third line project to the Nation. These projects have been developed at a cost of about Rs 110 crore and about Rs 450 crore respectively.

Nagpur railway station redevelopment project

Nagpur railway station redevelopment project is estimated to cost Rs. 589.22 crore.  Project completion is 36 months. This project includes restoration of heritage station building on the west side to its original glory. The redeveloped station will have a spacious roof plaza with all passenger amenities; segregation of arrival/departure; multimodal integration with metro station city bus and other transport.

The redeveloped station building has provision of 28 lifts and 31 escalators.  It will have multilevel parking facilities, smooth traffic flow; divyang friendly design; illumination, way finding signages, ease of movement, adequate waiting space and amenities, CCTVs, access control.  The redeveloped buildings will be green buildings which will have solar energy, water conservation and rainwater harvesting.

Ajni Railway Station Redevelopment Project

Ajni railway station redevelopment project is estimated to cost Rs. 359.82 crore. Project will complete in 40 months. This project includes construction of iconic station buildings on both sides. The redeveloped station will have a spacious roof plaza with all passenger amenities; segregation of arrival/departure; multimodal integration with metro station, city bus and other transport.
The redeveloped station building has provision of 21 lifts, 17 escalators and 6 travelators.  It will have multilevel parking facilities, smooth traffic flow; divyang friendly design; illumination, way finding signages, ease of movement, adequate waiting space and amenities, CCTVs, access control.  All the buildings will be green buildings which will have solar energy, water conservation and rainwater harvesting.

Government Maintenance Depot, Ajni for 12000 HP WAG-12 freight locomotives

This Government Maintenance Depot at Ajni is part of Madhepura Electric Loco Project.  It is one of the largest PPP Projects for Indian Railways, completed in August 2022 at an estimated cost of Depot is Rs.110 crore.  This project is executed by Madhepura Electric Locomotives Pvt. Ltd, (MELPL), a joint venture between Ministry of Railways and M/s Alstom. 

The total area of the Depot is 17 acres which will maintain 250 numbers of 12000 HP WAG-12 class of freight locomotives for hauling heavy freight trains; specially coal, iron ore and minerals.  It can monitor locomotive health using Internet of Things (IoT).  The uniqueness of the Depot is that it is a successful ‘Make in India’ model and part of one of the largest FDI investments for Indian Railways.

This Depot is equipped with modern facilities like automated loco washing plant with water recycling facility, under-floor pit wheel lathe machine, wheel press machine, roof access platform, horizontal press, vertical turret lathe, enclosed paint booth, modern equipment facilities like warehouse with modern storage system, electric scissor lift, fork lifts, gear case and motor mounting stations.

The Depot has green features like rainwater harvesting, zero discharge using effluent treatment plant and sewerage treatment plant, 100% LED lights, daylight panels, occupancy sensors, greenery and planned to provide 1 MW rooftop solar plant.

Kohli-Narkher section of Nagpur-Itarsi 3^rd  line project

The cost of Kohli-Narkher 49.74 km section is Rs 453 Crore. The section was commissioned in three phases viz. Katol – Kohli (24.63 km) on 15-03-2022; Narkher –Kalamba (15.06 km) on 24-06-2022 and Kalamba – Katol (10.05) km on 12-11-2022. Nagpur-Itarsi section on Golden Diagonal route carries very high passenger and freight movement. This 3rd line project will help augment capacity and decongest traffic on busy Nagpur-Itarsi section. It will also enable running of additional passenger and freight trains

Today, the Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modi was presented with a painting by the dignitaries on the dais. The painting Is done by a retired railway employee Shri Bijay Biswal.  The painting is from the same angle where the 6th Vande Bharat Express was flagged off from Nagpur i.e. platform no1.  It depicts a lady carrying oranges on the platform.

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YB