PM Modi in Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala to get its first Vande Bharat Express, water metro today; all you need to know

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off Kerala's first Vande Bharat Express between Thiruvananthapuram Central and Kasaragod on April 25 (Tuesday) from Thiruvananthapuram Central Railway Station at around 10:30 am.

The train will cover 11 districts namely Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Pathanamthitta, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and  Kasargod.

PM Modi, who is on a visit to Kerala, will lay the foundation stone and inaugurate various projects to the nation worth more than Rs 3,200 crore.

As part of his visit, he will also dedicate the Kochi Water Metro to the nation, the country's first water metro service on Tuesday. This one of its kind project connects 10 islands around Kochi through battery-operated electric hybrid boats for seamless connectivity with Kochi city.

The Kochi Water Metro has been built at a cost of Rs 1,136.83 crore in the port city. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan recently termed the Kochi Water Metro as a "dream project" of the state. In a tweet, he said exciting times are ahead for the southern state's transport and tourism sectors.

Apart from Kochi Water Metro, rail electrification of Dindigul-Palani-Palakkad section will also be dedicated by the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister will also lay the foundation of various rail projects including redevelopment of Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Varkala Sivagiri railway stations; comprehensive development of Thiruvananthapuram area including Nemon and Kochuveli and increasing of sectional speed of Thiruvananthapuram-Shoranur section.

Apart from this, the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of Digital Science Park in Thiruvananthapuram. Digital Science Park is envisaged as a key research facility to develop digital products and services by industry and business units in collaboration with the academia, as per the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

As a third generation Science Park, the Digital Science Park will house common facilities to support development of products in the area of Industry 4.0 Technologies like AI, data analytics, cyber security, smart materials, among others.

Initial investment for Phase-1 of the project is around Rs 200 crore while the total project outlay has been estimated at around Rs 1,515 crore.

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