Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw - Hon’ble Minister of Railways, Communications & Electronics and Information Technology attended the 10th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit – 2024 in Gandhinagar on 11th January, 2024. He also visited the Indian Railways’ Pavilion which has been set up by Western Railway. Hon’ble MR was accompanied by Shri Ashok Kumar Misra – General Manager of Western Railway and other senior railway officials.

According to a press release issued by Shri Sumit Thakur, Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw interacted with media representatives and briefed them about various developmental works being initiated under the Ministries headed by him. He mentioned about the noteworthy advancements made in the semi–conductor industry in our country and the investments made by various major giants such as Tata Group, Micron Technology, etc. in our country in this sector. This has been possible only due to the visionary leadership of Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modi. Briefing about the Mumbai – Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project, Shri Vaishnaw mentioned that the work of viaduct, placement of decks, tracks and overhead equipment are progressing at a rapid pace. On an average, approx. 14 km of work is being done per month. Till now, more than 270 km of viaduct have been laid. The work of construction of stations are also advancing at a fast pace. At the BKC Terminal, the piling work is completed and the design for the undersea tunnel between Mumbai & Thane is finalized and construction work started. He further stated that the Bullet Train project is not just a mere transportation project but a larger regional growth & developmental plan. It will help to converge the economies all the major cities enroute such as Mumbai, Thane, Vapi, Surat, Vadodara & Ahmedabad and enable easy & faster transportation between these cities, thereby enhancing the productivity manifold.

Thereafter, Hon’ble MR, Shri Ashwini visited the Indian Railways’ Pavilion and was impressed by the grandeur of the Pavilion which is based on the theme of Ayodhya Dham Jn. Railway station. He showed keen interest in the infographics displayed in a very creative manner through static panels and dynamic screens. Shri Vaishnaw appreciated the immersive content and infographics about developments on Indian Railways displayed through creative panels and dynamic screens designed by WR. He was equally impressed with various sections of the pavilion which have engaging content, interesting infotainment including the exhibits of Chenab Bridge, Ajni Bridge models and running train models. He also enjoyed the VR experience of Vande Bharat & the 'Press to Accelerate' section at the pavilion. Hon’ble MR appreciated the efforts by Western Railway for coming up with such a brilliant Pavilion of Indian Railways which is a huge crowd puller and has become one of the most popular exhibition stalls at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit.

Shri Vaishnaw also visited the Pavilion of National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd. (NHSRCL) at the Summit. Thereafter, he went to the Operation Control Centre (OCC) of Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd. (DFCCIL) located at Sabarmati, Ahmedabad. While briefing the media representatives at the OCC, Shri Vaishnaw informed that after 2014, the work of commissioning the Dedicated Freight Corridor gained momentum and now almost 89% of the work has been completed. Due to the Dedicated Freight Corridor, the cargo trains are now being run on this corridor while the passenger carrying trains are run on the regular conventional network. As on date, around 300 to 350 freight trains are plying daily over both Western & Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridors which has enhanced the logistic efficiency by reduction in transit time by around 50% - 70%.

The 10th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit – 2024 at was inaugurated by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 10th January, 2024 in the presence of Hon’ble Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Bhupendrabhai Patel and foreign delegates from various countries.

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