Students of Odisha to get free ride on Vande Bharat Express: Vaishnaw

Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday said that 50 students of Saraswati Vidya Mandir school will be selected through a competition and given a free ride on Vande Bharat Express.

The Union Minister performed Bhumi Pujan of Saraswati Vidya Mandir school on Sunday and also interacted with the students.

"When the students saw Vande Bharat's video, they had a desire to travel in the Vande Bharat Express. A competition will be conducted and of them, the 50 students who are selected will be given a ride," Vaishnaw said while talking to the reporters.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Odisha's first Vande Bharat train on May 18 between Puri to Howrah via video conferencing.

The Union Minister also praised the redevelopment work at the Bhubaneswar railway station and said that he will visit and inspect the site station tomorrow.

"It is a matter of pride that the prestigious Bhubaneswar Rajdhani train will get a new 'Tejas' rake' from tomorrow. It is PM Modi's vision to provide better facilities to the passengers. The redevelopment work at the Bhubaneswar railway station. I will visit and inspect the Bhubaneswar railway station tomorrow," he said.

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment of 508 railway Stations under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme through video conferencing from the national capital. These include 11 stations at Khurda Road and a total of 25 stations in Odisha.

Several Union Ministers and the Chief Ministers or Governors also joined the foundation stone laying ceremony from their respective states, where the respective railway stations are to get a complete makeover.

The mega project is estimated to be worth Rs 25,000 crore (approx.).

These 508 stations are spread across 27 states and union territories, including 55 each in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, 49 in Bihar, 44 in Maharashtra, 37 in West Bengal, 34 in Madhya Pradesh, 32 in Assam, 25 in Odisha, 22 in Punjab, 21 each in Gujarat and Telangana, 20 in Jharkhand, 18 each in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, 15 in Haryana, and 13 in Karnataka, among others.

According to an official release, the redevelopment will provide modern passenger amenities along with well-designed traffic circulation, inter-modal integration, and well-designed signage for the guidance of passengers.

The Amrit Bharat Station Scheme was launched to redevelop 1,309 stations across the country.