Vande Bharat Express is Uttarakhand's first gift from PM Modi: Ashwini Vaishnaw

While talking to ANI on board Dehradun-Delhi Vande Bharat Express, the Union Minister said, "Uttarakhand has received the gift of first Vande Bharat today. Along with this, about many railway projects which are being developed, today PM Modi said that the entire Uttarakhand has become an electrified railway network."

"Ahead of 2014 in a span of 60 years, 30,000 km of the rail network has been electrified but in the last nine years, 40,000 rail network got electrified. In every term, PM Modi has transformed railways in the last nine years," he added.

When asked about the challenges of operating Vande Bharat in the hilly state, Vaishnaw said, "Definitely it is challenging as many of the areas come under forest and wildlife sanctuaries where speed limit gets restricted to 35 km per hour. Yesterday all the discussions were done along with Uttarakhand CM and forest experts so that wildlife does not get affected and train movement also remains smooth."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday virtually flagged off the indigenously-built Vande Bharat Express that connects Dehradun with New Delhi. This is the first Vande Bharat train that has been introduced in Uttarakhand.

The train has been built indigenously and is equipped with advanced safety features including the Kavach technology. It has world-class amenities and heralds a new era of comfortable travel experience, especially for tourists travelling to the state.

Speaking at the launch event PM said, India is unstoppable now and said that it is advancing and will continue to advance at a speed parallel to that of Vande Bharat.