Latest news with #NamoBharatRapid
Indian Express
24-04-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
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.
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Business Standard
24-04-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
PM Modi flags off 4 trains, launches projects worth Rs 13,500 cr for Bihar
Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi on Thursday launched and inaugurated projects worth around Rs 13,500 crore here and flagged off four new trains. The four new trains are Amrit Bharat express between Saharsa and Mumbai, Namo Bharat Rapid rail between Jaynagar and Patna and trains between Pipra and Saharsa and Saharsa and Samastipur. At an event to mark National Panchayati Raj Day here, he also inaugurated the Supaul Pipra rail line, Hasanpur Bithan Rail line and two-lane rail over bridges at Chapra and Bagaha. He also dedicated to the nation the Khagaria-Alauli Rail line. The prime minister laid the foundation stone of an LPG bottling plant with rail unloading facility at Hathua in Gopalganj District of Bihar worth around Rs 340 crore, which will help in streamlining the supply chain and improving efficiency of bulk LPG transportation. He also laid foundation stone for projects worth over Rs 1,170 crore and inaugurated multiple projects worth over Rs 5,030 crore in the power sector in Bihar under the revamped distribution sector scheme. The prime minister will distribute benefits of around Rs 930 crore under community investment fund to over 2 lakh SHGs from Bihar under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY- NRLM). He also handed over sanction letters to 15 lakh new beneficiaries of PMAY-Gramin and released instalments to 10 lakh PMAY-G beneficiaries from across the country. He will hand over keys to some beneficiaries marking the Grih Pravesh of 1 lakh PMAY-G and 54,000 PMAY-U houses in Bihar. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
