24-04-2025
PM Modi inaugurates Namo Bharat Rapid Rail from Jaynagar to Patna: Significance before Bihar polls
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (April 24) flagged off the Namo Bharat Rapid Rail train between Jaynagar and Patna while addressing a rally in the city of Madhubani.
The fully air-conditioned train was among the multiple projects – totalling Rs 13,840 crore – announced for the Mithilanchal region a few months before Bihar goes to polls. It builds on other recent schemes and projects for the region, including the formation of a makhana board in the 2025 Union Budget. Here is why the announcement matters.
What is the Namo Bharat Rail project?
The Namo Bharat Rapid project will be the fastest and the first fully air-conditioned train between Jaynagar, which borders Nepal, and the state capital. It is only the second rake of the train project, after being launched between Ahmedabad and Bhuj last September.
The train includes ergonomically designed seats, modular interiors, and ejector-based vacuum toilets. The train has an automatic train protection system, CCTV surveillance, fire detection systems, and an emergency talk-back facility. It also has engines at both ends.
With 16 coaches, the Jaynagar-Patna Namo Bharat Rapid Rail train will be able to accommodate around 2,000 passengers. It can run at a speed of 116 km/hour and reach Patna in five and a half hours, compared to around eight hours from the existing trains on this route.
The train gives a faster and more comfortable option to travellers from the less-developed region of Madhubani to reach Patna (around 200 km). Ease in connectivity to the capital could also provide growth opportunities for small-scale industries like handicrafts, agriculture and local manufacturing. It also brings a premium train for the region for the first time.
This train will also aid travellers from Nepal to Patna and back. Mithilanchal includes parts of southern Nepal too, with cultural and familial ties cutting across the border.
What's behind the Centre's announcements for Mithilanchal, specifically?
Bihar will go to the polls towards the end of this year. The Mithilanchal region, comprising districts such as Darbhanga, Madhubani, Sitamarhi, Saharsa, Supaul and Madhepura, has been traditionally a strong NDA belt. The BJP wants to consolidate its vote base with better connectivity and a slew of development projects.
It also comes in the wake of the other major regional party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), attempting to gain ground here. At a party workers meeting last year, Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the state Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav, promised the formation of the Mithila Development Authority (MDA) if the Opposition INDIA bloc comes to power in the 2025 polls.
On its part, the BJP has also been reaching out in the constituencies held by its ally, the Janata Dal (United). JD(U) national working president and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Kumar Jha also hails from the region.
