Edited By Deepali Verma
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Phase I of the redeveloped Ayodhya railway station – known as Ayodhya Dham junction railway station – and flagged off new Amrit Bharat and Vande Bharat trains on December 30. Modi, upon arrival in Ayodhya, received a warm reception by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath.
Ayodhya railway station was renamed to Ayodhya Dham Junction right before the inauguration and consecration ceremony of the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple. Current Modi’s visit to Ayodhya is scheduled weeks before the grand consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple on January 22.
The Prime Minister is also scheduled to inaugurate the Maharishi Valmiki International Airport Ayodhya Dham. Post this, he will participate in a public programme during which he will lay the foundation stone of multiple developmental projects worth more than ₹15,000 crore in the state. Projects amounting to ₹11,100 crore will be assigned for the development of Ayodhya and its surrounding areas whereas ₹4,600 crore will be designated to other projects across Uttar Pradesh.
Things to know about Ayodhya Dham Junction railway station
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A cost of more than ₹240 crore has been incurred for the development of Ayodhya Dham Junction railway station.
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The modern railway station building spanning three-storeys is equipped with all the modern facilities like lifts, escalators, food plazas, shops for puja needs, cloakrooms, child care rooms and waiting halls.
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The station building proudly announces that it is ‘accessible for all’ and is an ‘IGBC-certified green station building’.
Two Amrit Bharat and six Vande Bharat trains
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Flagging of two Amrit Bharat and six Vande Bharat Express trains by PM Modi from the redeveloped Ayodhya Dham Railway Station will be taking place.
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Amrit Bharat Express, a new category of superfast passenger trains, comes with the LHB push-pull feature. These trains come with non-air-conditioned coaches.
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Locos are available at both ends to promote better acceleration. Rail passengers can now make use of better facilities like beautifully designed seats, better luggage racks, mobile charging points with suitable mobile holders, LED lights, CCTV and a public information system among others.
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The new Amrit Bharat trains will carry on as Darbhanga-Ayodhya-Anand Vihar Terminal Amrit Bharat Express and Malda Town-Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminus (Bengaluru) Amrit Bharat Express.
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The flagged off Vande Bharat Express trains include Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra-New Delhi Vande Bharat Express; Amritsar-Delhi Vande Bharat Express; Coimbatore-Bangalore Cantt Vande Bharat Express; Mangalore-Madgaon Vande Bharat Express; Jalna-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express and Ayodhya-Anand Vihar Terminal Vande Bharat Express.
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The three railway projects worth ₹2,300 crore were also green flagged by the PM and they are the Rooma Chakeri-Chanderi third line project; Jaunpur-Tulsi Nagar, Akbarpur-Ayodhya, Sohawal-Patranga and Safdarganj-Rasauli sections of the Jaunpur-Ayodhya-Barabanki doubling project. They are expected to strengthen the rail infrastructure in the region and create the doubling of the electrification project of the Malhaur-Daliganj railway section.
