PM Modi flags off 10 new Vande Bharat trains, says 10 years of work is 'just a trailer'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off 10 high-speed Vande Bharat trains on Tuesday. Modi attended the inauguration via video conferencing from Ahmedabad. The Prime Minister stated that the work done in the past 10 years towards the development of the nation is "just a trailer".

PM Modi also laid the foundation stone for several railway projects. After the inauguration Modi said, "This day is a living proof of willpower. Youth of the country will decide what kind of country and railway they want. Ye 10 saal ka kaam abhi toh trailer hai, mujhe toh aur aage jaana hai (The work done in these 10 years is just a trailer, I still have to go further)," he noted.

PM added that the governments that came after independence gave priority to political selfishness and the Indian Railways has been a victim of that. "The governments that came after independence gave priority to political selfishness. The Indian Railways is a major victim of that...The first that I did was to include Railways into the Budget of the Government. Due to this, government funds are now being used for the development of the Railways."

"I would like to tell the youth that the today inaugurations that happened today are for your present. The foundation stone laying that happened today has come with the guarantee of your bright future," he said.

The 10 new trains will operate between Kalaburagi- Sir M Vishvesvaraya Terminal Benguluru, Puri-Visakhapatnam, Mysuru-MGR Central (Chennai), Patna-Lucknow,Ahmedabad-Mumbai Central, Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam, Lucknow-Dehradun, New Jalpaiguri-Patna, Varanasi-Ranchi and Khajuraho-Nizamuddin (Delhi).

At present there are a total of 41 Vande Bharat trains operating across the Indian Railways network. The first Vande Bharat train was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2010 from Delhi to Varanasi.