Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate and dedicate to the nation several key projects of the Railways in Gujarat on 16th July 2021 via video conferencing. The Railway projects include the newly redeveloped Gandhinagar Capital Railway station, gauge converted cum electrified Mahesana – Varetha line, and the newly electrified Surendranagar – Pipavav section.
The Prime Minister will flag off two new trains i.e Gandhinagar Capital – Varanasi Superfast Express and MEMU service trains between Gandhinagar Capital and Varetha.
Prime Minister Narendra will also virtually inaugurate a newly-built five-star hotel atop the redeveloped Gandhinagar railway station. Note that the upgradation of Gandhinagar Capital Railway station has been done at a cost of Rs 71 crore. The Station has been provided with world-class amenities, at par with modern airports.
Special Care has been taken to make it a Divyang friendly station by providing it with a special ticket booking counter, ramps, lifts, dedicated parking space etc. The complete building is designed and provided with Green Building rating features. The state-of-the-art external façade will have daily theme-based lighting with 32 themes. The station will also house a five-star hotel.
PM will also dedicate Mahesana – Varetha gauge converted cum electrified broad gauge line (including Vadnagar station) to the nation. The Mahesana – Varetha Gauge conversion of 55 km has been completed at a cost of Rs 293 crores along with the electrification work at a cost of Rs 74 crores. It has a total of ten stations with four newly developed station buildings viz. Visnagar, Vadnagar, Kheralu & Varetha.
A major station on this section is Vadnagar, which has been developed under Vadnagar – Modhera – Patan Heritage Circuit. Vadnagar station building has been designed aesthetically using stone carvings, and the circulating area has been provided with landscaping. Vadnagar will now get connected through a broad gauge line and passenger and goods trains can now be run seamlessly on this section.
Electrification of Surendranagar – Pipavav Section is another project that will be dedicated to the nation. The project has been completed at a total cost of Rs 289 crores. The project will provide seamless freight movement from Palanpur, Ahmedabad and other parts of country upto Pipavav Port without any change of traction. It will also decongest Ahmedabad, Viramgam and Surendranagar Yards due to avoidance of detentions for loco change over.
